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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spell — letters
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. roll — a list
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — rain
  7. pop — soda
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. shower — to wash
  10. race — humankind
  11. roll — a cake
  12. spell — magic
  13. race — a contest
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. current — electric
  16. pop — to visit
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. current — happening now
  23. pop — music
  24. current — of water

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