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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: race · toast · wave · fall · rash · field · scale · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rash — hasty
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. fall — to drop
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. toast — bread
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. race — humankind
  12. rash — a series
  13. fall — the season
  14. field — a subject
  15. fall — to drop
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. field — farmland
  21. scale — size or range
  22. field — for sport
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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