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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. object — an aim
  6. mine — for digging
  7. band — a ring
  8. object — a thing
  9. track — a song
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. rule — government
  13. current — happening now
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. track — a path
  16. season — of the year
  17. capital — money
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. object — to protest
  21. track — to keep track
  22. rule — a law
  23. capital — a city
  24. band — a music group

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