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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. march — music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. march — the month
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — a phone
  9. key — in music
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cell — in biology
  13. current — of water
  14. march — the month
  15. key — for a lock
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. game — a match
  18. race — the arms race
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. race — a contest
  21. game — wild animals
  22. key — the most important part
  23. race — humankind
  24. current — happening now

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