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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. fall — to drop
  3. current — happening now
  4. capital — a city
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. row — a line
  10. rock — music
  11. march — the month
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. current — electric
  15. mine — for digging
  16. capital — money
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. row — to paddle
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. march — music

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