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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mark — a trace
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. capital — a city
  7. cell — in biology
  8. current — electric
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mark — a grade
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. cell — a phone
  14. capital — money
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. hand — help
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. hand — in cards

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