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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. current — of water
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hand — in cards
  6. current — happening now
  7. firm — steady
  8. sharp — clever
  9. current — electric
  10. present — there
  11. fall — to drop
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. present — the time now
  16. firm — a company
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fall — the season
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. fall — to drop
  22. firm — decided
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. present — a gift

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