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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 116 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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. spring — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — money
  6. scale — size or range
  7. capital — a city
  8. spring — a coil
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. game — a match
  11. spring — the season
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cap — of ice
  15. current — happening now
  16. cap — a lid
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. scale — in music
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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