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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. season — in sport
  4. capital — money
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. current — electric
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. land — ground
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. date — the fruit
  11. suit — clothes
  12. current — of water
  13. land — a country
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. land — to come down
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a city
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. current — happening now
  23. suit — to fit
  24. bass — low music

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