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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. last — finally
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. race — humankind
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. tube — the underground
  11. race — a contest
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. prune — to trim
  14. race — the arms race
  15. row — a line
  16. tube — a container
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. row — to paddle
  19. last — final
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. snap — to click
  23. last — to go on
  24. tube — in a tire

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