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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. current — happening now
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. shower — rain
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. current — of water
  14. capital — a city
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. shower — to wash
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. current — electric
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. cue — for pool
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cue — a hint

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