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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. capital — a city
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. roll — a cake
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. roll — a list
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. current — of water
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. current — electric
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cold — an illness
  17. current — happening now
  18. fine — all right
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. capital — a big letter
  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