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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. capital — a city
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — a trail
  10. capital — money
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tear — to rip
  13. saw — the tool
  14. current — of water
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. tear — from crying
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. saw — the tool
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. race — a contest
  24. wind — to turn a key

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