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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. chest — a box
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — a hat
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cap — of ice
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. current — happening now
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. rule — government
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. current — electric
  24. rule — a law

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