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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 116 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. race — a contest
  3. bound — obliged
  4. band — a ring
  5. hand — in cards
  6. current — happening now
  7. swing — to play on
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bound — certain
  11. band — a music group
  12. rest — what's left
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. current — of water
  15. swing — in golf
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rest — a break
  21. swing — music
  22. bound — tied together
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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