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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. band — a ring
  3. game — a match
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. band — a music group
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. current — electric
  10. mug — a face
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. capital — money
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mug — to rob
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mug — a cup
  24. shower — rain

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