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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 116 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. wake — a trail
  3. land — ground
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. current — electric
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. race — a contest
  8. rush — hurry
  9. land — a country
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. race — the arms race
  13. root — of a plant
  14. current — of water
  15. root — the cause
  16. current — happening now
  17. root — of a word
  18. spring — the season
  19. land — to come down
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — humankind
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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