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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — electric
  3. spell — magic
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spell — letters
  6. file — a tool
  7. row — to paddle
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. file — a document
  10. race — a contest
  11. mark — a grade
  12. current — of water
  13. race — humankind
  14. ball — a great time
  15. mark — a trace
  16. race — the arms race
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. file — a line of people
  22. row — a line
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. spell — a short time

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