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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wound — an injury
  3. band — a music group
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — money
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. band — a ring
  14. wound — an injury
  15. firm — a company
  16. current — of water
  17. firm — steady
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. firm — decided
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. racket — for tennis

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