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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. capital — a city
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. present — a gift
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — money
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. present — the time now
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. current — happening now
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. kid — child
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. present — there

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