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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. capital — money
  4. current — electric
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — a city
  7. deal — to handle
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. track — a path
  10. plane — a tool
  11. hand — in cards
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. current — of water
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. season — in sport
  16. track — a song
  17. spring — of water
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. track — to keep track
  20. season — of the year
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. current — happening now
  23. hand — help
  24. spring — a coil

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