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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. bound — tied together
  7. current — happening now
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. capital — money
  16. bound — obliged
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. land — a country
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bound — certain
  24. march — the month

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