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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. current — of water
  2. capital — money
  3. current — electric
  4. wound — an injury
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. current — happening now
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pop — soda
  12. root — the cause
  13. capital — a city
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. club — for golf
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. root — of a plant
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. root — of a word
  23. capital — a big letter
  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