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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. last — final
  3. present — a gift
  4. mate — a partner
  5. race — a contest
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. chest — of your body
  9. race — humankind
  10. last — to go on
  11. mate — to breed
  12. chest — of your body
  13. last — finally
  14. chest — a box
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cap — a hat
  17. race — the arms race
  18. current — of water
  19. present — there
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. present — the time now
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — high quality

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