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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. capital — money
  5. net — after costs
  6. scale — size or range
  7. net — in sport
  8. current — of water
  9. capital — a city
  10. net — for catching
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. roll — a list
  13. scale — in music
  14. rule — a law
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. current — happening now
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — electric
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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