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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. current — happening now
  3. net — for catching
  4. current — of water
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cold — not warm
  7. net — after costs
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. net — in sport
  16. current — electric
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wake — a trail
  24. sharp — clever

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