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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. last — finally
  6. mark — a trace
  7. prune — to trim
  8. current — of water
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. race — a contest
  11. current — electric
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. current — happening now
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. prune — to trim
  16. race — the arms race
  17. row — to paddle
  18. last — final
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. race — humankind
  21. row — a line
  22. pass — a permit
  23. mark — a grade
  24. last — to go on

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