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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. net — after costs
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. file — a tool
  5. current — happening now
  6. race — a contest
  7. current — electric
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rash — a series
  12. net — in sport
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. net — for catching
  15. wound — an injury
  16. current — of water
  17. race — humankind
  18. file — a line of people
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. race — the arms race
  24. file — a document

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