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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pitch — completely
  3. march — the month
  4. race — a contest
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — humankind
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — certain
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. bound — obliged
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rash — hasty
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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