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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. pop — soda
  3. suit — clothes
  4. wound — an injury
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. swing — music
  8. current — of water
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. swing — to play on
  14. suit — to fit
  15. current — happening now
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. row — a line
  18. pop — music
  19. capital — money
  20. mine — for digging
  21. suit — in cards
  22. swing — in golf
  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