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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. land — ground
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. charge — a price
  6. race — a contest
  7. land — to come down
  8. perch — the fish
  9. race — humankind
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bat — the animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. charge — electricity
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. land — a country
  21. charge — in control
  22. mine — for digging
  23. current — happening now
  24. perch — for a bird

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