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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. deal — to handle
  9. season — of the year
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. race — a contest
  13. bound — obliged
  14. row — to paddle
  15. current — of water
  16. cue — a signal
  17. bound — tied together
  18. file — a document
  19. season — in sport
  20. bound — certain
  21. row — a line
  22. cue — for pool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. deal — an agreement

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