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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. current — happening now
  4. clip — to cut
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. race — the arms race
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. current — of water
  11. clip — for paper
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. game — a match
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. clip — a video
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. current — electric
  22. game — wild animals
  23. race — humankind
  24. fork — in a road

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