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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. capital — a city
  3. cap — of ice
  4. land — a country
  5. current — electric
  6. current — happening now
  7. present — the time now
  8. capital — money
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. band — a music group
  12. land — to come down
  13. roll — a list
  14. current — of water
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. roll — a cake
  17. land — ground
  18. band — a ring
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. present — there

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