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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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Word bank
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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — a stone
  3. current — electric
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kid — child
  6. file — a line of people
  7. capital — money
  8. rock — music
  9. current — of water
  10. current — happening now
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a document
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. file — a tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. capital — a city
  22. race — the arms race
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cue — for pool

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