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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cap — a lid
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. capital — money
  5. clip — a video
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. band — a music group
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cap — a hat
  17. current — happening now
  18. clip — for paper
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. cap — of ice
  22. band — a ring
  23. capital — a city
  24. mine — belonging to me

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