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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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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: nail · kick · race · pop · last · wound · land · current

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. current — electric
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — to come down
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. race — humankind
  10. current — happening now
  11. race — the arms race
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — in football
  16. race — a contest
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. current — of water
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. pop — soda
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. last — finally
  24. kick — a thrill

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