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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — child
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pit — a hole
  6. current — electric
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pit — in a race
  9. capital — money
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. ground — a position
  15. can — to be able to
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. can — a tin
  21. current — of water
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. current — happening now
  24. can — a tin

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