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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. current — of water
  3. kid — to tease
  4. race — a contest
  5. file — a line of people
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bark — to shout
  8. kid — child
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. race — humankind
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. capital — money
  16. land — ground
  17. capital — a city
  18. current — happening now
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. file — a tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. current — electric
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wave — of the sea

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