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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lean — to bend
  4. field — farmland
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. lean — thin
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. current — electric
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. race — the arms race
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. current — of water
  20. race — humankind
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cold — an illness
  24. race — a contest

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