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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. current — electric
  4. rush — hurry
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. current — of water
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chip — to eat
  16. current — happening now
  17. ground — a position
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — to come from

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