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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. race — a contest
  2. track — a path
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. race — the arms race
  5. current — electric
  6. track — a song
  7. rash — a series
  8. spell — letters
  9. current — happening now
  10. tube — a container
  11. spell — magic
  12. current — of water
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. race — humankind
  17. rash — hasty
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — to tease
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tube — the underground
  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