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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. last — to go on
  3. current — electric
  4. capital — a city
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. chest — of your body
  7. current — happening now
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. current — of water
  20. last — finally
  21. pitch — completely
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chest — a box
  24. last — final

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