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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. current — electric
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. land — to come down
  6. current — happening now
  7. ball — a great time
  8. race — a contest
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. track — a song
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. race — the arms race
  14. land — ground
  15. race — humankind
  16. current — of water
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bark — to shout
  22. land — a country
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. track — a path

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