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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. swing — to play on
  4. current — electric
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. band — a music group
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. band — a ring
  14. current — of water
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — humankind
  18. row — to paddle
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mine — for digging

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