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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 hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pop — music
  3. cap — a lid
  4. current — of water
  5. cap — of ice
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pop — soda
  9. drill — a practice
  10. current — electric
  11. last — finally
  12. staff — a stick
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cap — a hat
  15. snap — to click
  16. last — to go on
  17. drill — the tool
  18. current — happening now
  19. pop — to visit
  20. staff — employees
  21. race — humankind
  22. last — final
  23. race — a contest
  24. drill — army training

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