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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. swing — in golf
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. swing — to play on
  6. capital — a city
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cold — an illness
  9. tube — a container
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. swing — music
  12. current — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. current — happening now
  15. capital — money
  16. current — electric
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cold — not warm
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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