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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. plane — a tool
  4. capital — a city
  5. cue — a hint
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. land — ground
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. current — electric
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. current — of water
  21. capital — money
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cue — a signal

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