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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 · band · pitch · file · current · spring · race · ruler

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. current — of water
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cold — not warm
  5. race — humankind
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. race — a contest
  10. current — happening now
  11. file — a tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. cold — an illness
  14. current — electric
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. band — a ring
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spring — the season
  24. pitch — completely

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