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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. race — the arms race
  3. club — for dancing
  4. march — music
  5. current — happening now
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. club — a group
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. drill — the tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. race — humankind
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. current — electric
  14. drill — a practice
  15. race — a contest
  16. march — the month
  17. club — for golf
  18. current — of water
  19. drill — army training
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. staff — a stick

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