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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. capital — money
  5. current — electric
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. charge — a price
  11. charge — electricity
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. game — wild animals
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. hand — in cards
  19. charge — in control
  20. pitch — completely
  21. hand — help
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. squash — the vegetable

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