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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pop — soda
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cap — a lid
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. press — to push
  12. shower — rain
  13. current — of water
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. capital — money
  16. cap — a hat
  17. current — electric
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pop — music
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. capital — a city

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