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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mine — for digging
  9. field — farmland
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. game — wild animals
  12. field — a subject
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. race — humankind
  18. game — a match
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. field — for sport
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. race — a contest
  23. current — happening now
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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