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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. current — electric
  3. bear — the animal
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. race — a contest
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. court — of a king
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. land — ground
  14. current — of water
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. club — for golf
  17. court — for sport
  18. fork — in a road
  19. court — of law
  20. bear — the animal
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. current — happening now
  24. fork — to eat with

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