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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: current · last · race · tear · foot · press

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. press — to push
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — of water
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. foot — a measure
  8. press — newspapers
  9. tear — from crying
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. press — a publisher
  14. last — to go on
  15. current — happening now
  16. tear — to rip
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. race — humankind

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