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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. current — electric
  4. prune — to trim
  5. current — happening now
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. capital — money
  9. press — to push
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. press — newspapers
  12. scale — in music
  13. press — a publisher
  14. current — of water
  15. scale — size or range
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. capital — a city

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