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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: mine · field · race · wave · rule · current · tube · straw

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. current — happening now
  3. field — a subject
  4. tube — the underground
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rule — a law
  9. field — farmland
  10. race — humankind
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. current — electric
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. rule — government
  21. field — for sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. current — of water

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