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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 116 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. mine — for digging
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. march — the month
  11. shower — rain
  12. row — a line
  13. current — of water
  14. row — to paddle
  15. march — the month
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. current — happening now
  18. shower — to wash
  19. capital — money
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. march — music
  22. bulb — for light
  23. capital — a city
  24. bulb — for light

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