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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. spring — a coil
  5. track — a song
  6. court — for sport
  7. current — of water
  8. mate — to breed
  9. spring — of water
  10. court — of a king
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. mate — a partner
  13. spring — the season
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. mate — a friend
  17. spell — magic
  18. capital — a city
  19. court — of law
  20. spell — letters
  21. current — electric
  22. current — happening now
  23. spell — a short time
  24. racket — for tennis

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