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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. current — happening now
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. race — a contest
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. can — to be able to
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chip — to eat
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chip — for betting
  16. current — of water
  17. race — humankind
  18. current — electric
  19. wind — moving air
  20. can — a tin
  21. sharp — clever
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. sharp — exactly

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