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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. object — to protest
  7. race — a contest
  8. object — an aim
  9. wind — moving air
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chest — a box
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. race — humankind
  16. object — a thing
  17. current — electric
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. face — part of the head
  21. current — of water
  22. race — the arms race
  23. face — to confront
  24. season — of the year

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