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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. craft — a skill
  3. rule — a law
  4. capital — a city
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. capital — money
  10. court — for sport
  11. craft — boats
  12. rest — what's left
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. current — happening now
  15. court — of a king
  16. current — of water
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. current — electric
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. court — of law
  23. rule — government
  24. rest — a break

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