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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. kid — to tease
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — child
  5. current — electric
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bass — low music
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. current — of water
  12. land — to come down
  13. charge — in control
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. race — humankind
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cold — not warm
  19. race — the arms race
  20. charge — electricity
  21. cold — an illness
  22. land — a country
  23. charge — a price
  24. race — a contest

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