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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. key — for a lock
  3. current — electric
  4. spring — the season
  5. key — the most important part
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. last — to go on
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. spring — of water
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — a coil
  14. race — a contest
  15. last — finally
  16. race — humankind
  17. content — the amount
  18. race — the arms race
  19. current — happening now
  20. key — in music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. last — final
  24. content — happy

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