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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. land — a country
  3. current — of water
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. march — music
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. rash — hasty
  10. race — humankind
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pound — a weight
  14. clip — a video
  15. rash — a series
  16. march — the month
  17. current — electric
  18. race — a contest
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. clip — for paper
  23. march — the month
  24. race — the arms race

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