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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: cap · row · race · current · tear · kid · land · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. race — a contest
  7. current — happening now
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. current — of water
  12. race — the arms race
  13. kid — child
  14. race — humankind
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — to paddle
  17. land — a country
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tear — from crying
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — to rip
  24. row — a line

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