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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mate — a friend
  3. current — of water
  4. band — a music group
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. season — of the year
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. current — happening now
  14. roll — a list
  15. capital — a city
  16. face — part of the head
  17. season — in sport
  18. capital — money
  19. band — a ring
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. current — electric
  24. roll — on a roll

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