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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. net — in sport
  3. race — a contest
  4. net — for catching
  5. current — electric
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lean — thin
  8. current — of water
  9. kid — child
  10. net — after costs
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. lean — to bend
  15. root — the cause
  16. ball — a great time
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. current — happening now
  19. kid — to tease
  20. race — humankind
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — of a word
  24. nail — for a hammer

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