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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pop — soda
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — money
  6. can — to be able to
  7. vault — a safe
  8. can — a tin
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. game — wild animals
  12. can — a tin
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. capital — a city
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. pop — music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. pop — to visit
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. game — a match

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