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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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 · last · content · race · tear · rest · current · game

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. current — electric
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — wild animals
  5. current — of water
  6. rest — a break
  7. content — happy
  8. race — humankind
  9. game — a match
  10. rest — what's left
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. current — happening now
  15. tear — from crying
  16. content — the amount
  17. mine — for digging
  18. last — final
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. last — to go on
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. last — finally

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