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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: tear · stick · land · racket · last · race · current · hand

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. land — ground
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. race — a contest
  5. land — a country
  6. race — the arms race
  7. last — finally
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. land — to come down
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — in cards
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — final
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. race — humankind
  20. current — electric
  21. last — to go on
  22. current — of water
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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