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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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 — of water
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mine — for digging
  4. current — electric
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mark — a trace
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cold — not warm
  12. kick — in football
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. current — happening now
  16. race — humankind
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. race — a contest
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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