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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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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: race · nail · current · cold · wind · spell · drill · ball

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. drill — a practice
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. current — electric
  10. spell — letters
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. spell — a short time
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cold — an illness
  16. drill — army training
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. drill — the tool
  19. current — of water
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. current — happening now
  22. spell — magic
  23. cold — not warm
  24. race — a contest

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