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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. current — electric
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fine — high quality
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wind — moving air
  8. current — of water
  9. land — ground
  10. capital — a city
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. shower — to wash
  13. land — to come down
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. current — happening now
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. land — a country
  23. fine — all right
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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