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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. capital — money
  5. pop — to visit
  6. snap — to click
  7. field — farmland
  8. current — of water
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. capital — a city
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — a list
  13. face — part of the head
  14. face — to confront
  15. pop — music
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. face — to point toward
  19. field — a subject
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — electric
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. field — for sport
  24. pop — soda

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