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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. cue — for pool
  4. spring — the season
  5. clip — for paper
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. current — happening now
  9. rock — music
  10. current — electric
  11. fine — high quality
  12. rock — a stone
  13. spring — of water
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cue — a hint
  16. current — of water
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cue — a signal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. clip — a video
  24. capital — money

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