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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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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: bore · race · ground · current · key · fall · last · wind

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. current — happening now
  5. bore — to tire
  6. ground — a position
  7. race — the arms race
  8. current — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — the season
  11. last — final
  12. key — for a lock
  13. fall — to drop
  14. key — in music
  15. key — the most important part
  16. race — humankind
  17. last — to go on
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. race — a contest
  21. ground — the earth
  22. last — finally
  23. bore — to drill
  24. current — electric

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