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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. capital — money
  5. prune — to trim
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. current — electric
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bore — to drill
  14. ground — a position
  15. current — of water
  16. ground — crushed
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bat — the animal
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bore — to tire
  24. capital — a city

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