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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. current — electric
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. land — a country
  8. last — to go on
  9. race — the arms race
  10. current — happening now
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. race — humankind
  13. last — finally
  14. land — to come down
  15. mine — for digging
  16. race — a contest
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. last — final
  23. current — of water
  24. land — ground

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