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

Word bank: cap · row · race · current · tear · kid

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. race — a contest
  3. cap — a hat
  4. kid — to tease
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. current — of water
  8. kid — child
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cap — of ice
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cap — a lid
  13. race — humankind
  14. tear — from crying
  15. current — electric
  16. race — the arms race
  17. current — happening now
  18. row — a quarrel

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