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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 120 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. game — a match
  3. current — electric
  4. game — wild animals
  5. capital — a city
  6. current — of water
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — happening now
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. spell — magic
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. net — after costs
  15. spell — letters
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. capital — money
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. net — in sport

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