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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — money
  4. charge — a price
  5. can — a tin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. can — a tin
  8. field — for sport
  9. land — to come down
  10. current — electric
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. field — a subject
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. land — ground
  15. can — to be able to
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — electricity
  19. field — farmland
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. capital — a city
  23. land — a country
  24. current — happening now

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