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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mate — a partner
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rock — music
  7. capital — a city
  8. fall — the season
  9. mate — a friend
  10. current — electric
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rock — a stone
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mate — to breed
  15. capital — money
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pop — music
  18. drill — army training
  19. land — ground
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. pop — soda
  24. current — happening now

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