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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. race — a contest
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — hasty
  5. race — humankind
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. current — electric
  14. staff — employees
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. current — of water
  18. race — the arms race
  19. land — to come down
  20. current — happening now
  21. craft — boats
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. land — a country

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