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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. capital — a city
  3. mate — a friend
  4. drill — army training
  5. swing — music
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. current — of water
  9. season — in sport
  10. current — electric
  11. shower — rain
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. current — happening now
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. drill — the tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. swing — in golf
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. capital — money
  24. swing — to play on

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