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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. club — for golf
  3. toast — bread
  4. fall — to drop
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fall — the season
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — to fit
  11. current — electric
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — a video
  15. club — for dancing
  16. clip — for paper
  17. race — humankind
  18. cold — an illness
  19. current — of water
  20. clip — to cut
  21. club — a group
  22. race — a contest
  23. suit — clothes
  24. cold — the Cold War

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