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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 120 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — in golf
  4. sharp — clever
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cap — of ice
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cap — a lid
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. swing — music
  12. current — happening now
  13. swing — to play on
  14. cap — a hat
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — the animal
  17. can — to be able to
  18. game — a match
  19. current — electric
  20. can — a tin
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. can — a tin
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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