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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. capital — a city
  4. current — electric
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bear — the animal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. drill — a practice
  13. current — happening now
  14. last — final
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. drill — army training
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. current — of water
  23. band — a music group
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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