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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mine — for digging
  6. current — happening now
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a document
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. file — a line of people
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ground — a position
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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