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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. capital — money
  5. bulb — for light
  6. season — in sport
  7. current — happening now
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. season — of the year
  14. mate — a partner
  15. current — of water
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — an injury
  18. current — electric
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mate — to breed
  21. shower — rain
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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