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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 120 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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. capital — money
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. file — a tool
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. current — electric
  10. cell — a phone
  11. current — happening now
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cell — in biology
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. file — a line of people
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. current — of water
  19. capital — a city
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. swing — music
  22. file — a document
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. hide — animal skin

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