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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · wind · saw · net · foot · charge · cold · stock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stock — shares
  4. swing — music
  5. charge — a price
  6. cold — an illness
  7. charge — in control
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. net — in sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — the tool
  14. swing — to play on
  15. saw — the tool
  16. swing — in golf
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. net — for catching
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. net — after costs
  21. charge — electricity
  22. stock — goods
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. foot — a measure

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com