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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 quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. kick — in football
  3. current — happening now
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. chest — of your body
  7. current — electric
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. land — to come down
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. land — a country
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chest — a box
  15. land — ground
  16. current — of water
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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