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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. current — happening now
  3. shower — to wash
  4. degree — an amount
  5. can — a tin
  6. current — electric
  7. race — a contest
  8. degree — temperature
  9. can — to be able to
  10. degree — from a university
  11. race — the arms race
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. shower — rain
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cell — a phone
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. current — of water
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. can — a tin

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