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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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. last — to go on
  2. band — a ring
  3. clip — for paper
  4. current — of water
  5. clip — a video
  6. current — happening now
  7. game — a match
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a music group
  12. clip — to cut
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. current — electric
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. game — a kind of play
  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