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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — a city
  4. rash — hasty
  5. current — happening now
  6. snap — to click
  7. dip — to sink
  8. shower — rain
  9. current — electric
  10. shower — to wash
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. current — of water
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cell — a phone
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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