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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. club — for dancing
  4. scale — in music
  5. craft — boats
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. capital — a city
  9. craft — a skill
  10. club — for golf
  11. shower — to wash
  12. scale — size or range
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — rain
  16. club — a group
  17. current — electric
  18. chip — for betting
  19. current — happening now
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. current — of water

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