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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. race — humankind
  5. key — for a lock
  6. rock — music
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. current — of water
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. spring — a coil
  11. current — happening now
  12. kid — child
  13. rock — a stone
  14. key — the most important part
  15. current — electric
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — of ice
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. kid — to tease
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. spring — of water
  23. key — in music
  24. spring — the season

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