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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. bulb — for light
  3. game — wild animals
  4. last — final
  5. net — after costs
  6. current — electric
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. net — in sport
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. chair — a leader
  13. last — finally
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. last — to go on
  18. net — for catching
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bulb — for light
  22. game — a match
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. current — of water

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