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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. drill — the tool
  3. file — a document
  4. race — the arms race
  5. drill — army training
  6. tear — to rip
  7. race — a contest
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — electric
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a line of people
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. current — of water
  18. chip — to eat
  19. race — humankind
  20. file — a tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. kid — child

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