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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: current · file · race · mouse · spring · chair · hide · cell

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. current — happening now
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. race — the arms race
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. race — a contest
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chair — a leader
  19. current — of water
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. file — a line of people

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