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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. last — final
  3. current — happening now
  4. land — to come down
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. current — electric
  11. track — a song
  12. last — finally
  13. current — of water
  14. last — to go on
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. track — to keep track
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. capital — money
  23. sharp — clever
  24. track — a path

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