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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mark — a grade
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. file — a line of people
  7. race — the arms race
  8. current — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. prune — to trim
  13. current — happening now
  14. file — a document
  15. prune — to trim
  16. game — a match
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. race — a contest
  19. file — a tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. current — electric
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wound — an injury

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