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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. staff — employees
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. capital — a city
  6. cold — not warm
  7. current — of water
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. spell — letters
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. staff — employees
  18. current — happening now
  19. capital — money
  20. staff — a stick
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bear — the animal
  24. sharp — clever

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