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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. spell — magic
  3. swing — in golf
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. current — electric
  11. spell — letters
  12. net — after costs
  13. rule — government
  14. swing — music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hand — in cards
  18. degree — from a university
  19. net — in sport
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. current — happening now
  22. swing — to play on
  23. net — for catching
  24. rule — a law

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