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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: saw · rule · squash · current · perch · race · sharp · kid

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. race — a contest
  3. current — of water
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. saw — the tool
  7. squash — the sport
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rule — government
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. perch — the fish
  13. sharp — clever
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. race — humankind
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. squash — to crush
  20. current — happening now
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rule — a law
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. race — the arms race

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