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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bound — obliged
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. capital — money
  6. last — to go on
  7. current — electric
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pop — music
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bound — certain
  12. last — final
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. pop — to visit
  16. capital — a city
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pop — soda

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