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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — child
  10. capital — money
  11. rush — hurry
  12. field — a subject
  13. current — electric
  14. kid — to tease
  15. current — happening now
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. key — the most important part
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mate — a friend
  21. key — in music
  22. mate — to breed
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. current — of water

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