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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rash — a series
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. capital — money
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ground — crushed
  13. current — of water
  14. fork — in a road
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. ground — a position
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. current — happening now
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. current — electric
  24. capital — a city

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