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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. race — the arms race
  3. row — a line
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rash — hasty
  6. last — final
  7. pop — music
  8. last — finally
  9. race — a contest
  10. last — to go on
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pop — to visit
  14. current — electric
  15. current — of water
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rash — a series
  18. current — happening now
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. race — humankind
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. row — to paddle

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