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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. current — happening now
  5. cold — not warm
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. capital — a city
  9. can — a tin
  10. capital — money
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. face — part of the head
  14. can — a tin
  15. current — of water
  16. root — of a plant
  17. face — to confront
  18. present — the time now
  19. present — there
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. present — a gift
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a word
  24. current — electric

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