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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. current — happening now
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. game — a match
  7. kid — child
  8. root — of a word
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — money
  11. root — of a plant
  12. capital — a city
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. root — the cause
  19. current — of water
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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