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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — a city
  5. march — the month
  6. snap — to click
  7. spring — of water
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chair — a leader
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. court — of a king
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. current — happening now
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. march — music
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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