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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. capital — money
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. current — of water
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. current — electric
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — high quality
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. shower — rain
  19. capital — a city
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. current — happening now
  22. tube — the underground
  23. pass — a permit
  24. ball — a great time

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