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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spell — magic
  3. current — happening now
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. current — of water
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rule — government
  9. capital — money
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rule — a law
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wound — an injury
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chair — a leader
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. spell — letters
  24. current — electric

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