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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. current — electric
  3. chip — for betting
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. race — humankind
  7. current — happening now
  8. ground — a position
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. current — of water
  12. kid — child
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. tear — to rip
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tear — from crying
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chip — to eat
  23. race — the arms race
  24. calf — of the leg

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