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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. capital — a city
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cap — a lid
  5. current — electric
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. capital — money
  8. cap — a hat
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — the fish
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bass — low music
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. cap — of ice
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. straw — a straw man

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