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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · cold · temple · last · current · drill · bass · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. current — electric
  3. drill — the tool
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. drill — army training
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bass — low music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — an illness
  11. last — to go on
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — the arms race
  14. current — happening now
  15. last — final
  16. current — of water
  17. race — a contest
  18. drill — a practice
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. bass — the fish
  22. last — finally
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — a place of worship

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