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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. kid — child
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — to get on
  5. kid — to tease
  6. root — of a word
  7. board — a committee
  8. capital — money
  9. current — electric
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. root — the cause
  12. current — happening now
  13. capital — a city
  14. current — of water
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. last — to go on
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. last — final
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. root — of a plant
  23. last — finally
  24. pitcher — a jug

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