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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. bass — low music
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mark — a trace
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. file — a document
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mine — for digging
  19. race — a contest
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. file — a line of people
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. file — a tool

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