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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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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. capital — a city
  3. current — of water
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bear — the animal
  6. court — for sport
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. clip — for paper
  10. object — to protest
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cell — in biology
  17. object — a thing
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. current — electric
  21. object — an aim
  22. current — happening now
  23. capital — money
  24. cell — in a prison

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