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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. swing — music
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. spell — a short time
  8. capital — a city
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. fine — all right
  12. current — electric
  13. race — humankind
  14. spell — magic
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. fine — high quality
  18. kid — to tease
  19. swing — to play on
  20. kid — child
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. spell — letters
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. mine — an explosive

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