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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fall — the season
  7. mine — for digging
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fall — to drop
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. ground — the earth
  16. current — of water
  17. hand — help
  18. sharp — clever
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — in cards
  22. current — happening now
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. ground — a position

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