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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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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: cold · race · fork · march · kick · saw · current · wave

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fork — in a road
  13. saw — the tool
  14. current — of water
  15. march — the month
  16. current — happening now
  17. kick — in football
  18. race — the arms race
  19. march — the month
  20. current — electric
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. fork — a garden tool

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