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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. swing — to play on
  5. stock — shares
  6. spell — magic
  7. current — electric
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. kid — to tease
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. capital — a city
  18. current — happening now
  19. stock — goods
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. capital — money
  22. spell — letters
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. kid — child

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