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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. club — a group
  4. wound — an injury
  5. suit — in cards
  6. current — of water
  7. suit — to fit
  8. ground — crushed
  9. club — for dancing
  10. current — electric
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rash — hasty
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. club — for golf
  16. spring — the season
  17. rash — a series
  18. suit — clothes
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — the earth
  22. current — happening now
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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