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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. capital — money
  4. current — happening now
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rest — a break
  7. current — of water
  8. club — a group
  9. game — wild animals
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. scale — in music
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. track — to keep track
  18. current — electric
  19. rest — what's left
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. club — for golf
  22. rest — what's left
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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