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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 120 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. object — a thing
  3. present — there
  4. object — to protest
  5. present — a gift
  6. wax — to grow
  7. current — of water
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. last — to go on
  11. object — an aim
  12. cold — not warm
  13. current — happening now
  14. present — the time now
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — finally
  20. wound — an injury
  21. race — a contest
  22. last — final
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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