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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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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: race · current · pitcher · last · wound · plane · firm · squash

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. last — to go on
  3. squash — the sport
  4. firm — steady
  5. current — electric
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. squash — to crush
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. current — of water
  11. last — finally
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. firm — a company
  14. race — a contest
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wound — an injury
  17. race — the arms race
  18. current — happening now
  19. race — humankind
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. last — final

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