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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. capital — a city
  7. band — a ring
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. current — of water
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. stand — to bear
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. current — electric
  15. band — a music group
  16. net — after costs
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pitch — completely
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. season — in sport
  24. current — happening now

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