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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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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: current · mate · race · kick · bound · field · mouse · arm

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. current — of water
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — a subject
  7. race — humankind
  8. kick — in football
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. field — farmland
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — for sport
  17. race — a contest
  18. bound — tied together
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. current — happening now
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mate — to breed
  24. current — electric

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