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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. capital — a city
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — of water
  8. cue — a signal
  9. ground — crushed
  10. current — electric
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — money
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. kick — in football
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pitch — completely
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — a box
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cue — a hint
  24. chest — of your body

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