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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. current — electric
  3. field — farmland
  4. stock — goods
  5. clip — to cut
  6. field — a subject
  7. current — happening now
  8. suit — to fit
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — shares
  11. scale — in music
  12. pitch — completely
  13. clip — for paper
  14. suit — clothes
  15. field — for sport
  16. current — of water
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. clip — a video
  23. suit — in cards
  24. scale — size or range

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