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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. sharp — clever
  6. present — there
  7. file — a tool
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. track — a song
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. present — a gift
  14. track — a path
  15. mine — for digging
  16. track — to keep track
  17. file — a line of people
  18. present — the time now
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. file — a document
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. current — electric

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