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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. file — a tool
  3. current — electric
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. capital — a city
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. current — happening now
  22. pit — in a race
  23. capital — money
  24. current — of water

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