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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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Word bank
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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: chest · land · can · current · mine · race

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. 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. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. land — to come down
  4. race — a contest
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. current — electric
  7. can — to be able to
  8. race — humankind
  9. current — of water
  10. land — ground
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. current — happening now
  14. race — the arms race
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. 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