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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. staff — employees
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. current — electric
  6. capital — money
  7. current — happening now
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. deal — to handle
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. staff — employees
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. current — of water
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. spring — the season
  23. staff — a stick
  24. spring — a coil

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