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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. last — to go on
  4. capital — a city
  5. current — electric
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. last — finally
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. band — a music group
  10. current — of water
  11. board — to get on
  12. last — final
  13. band — a ring
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — not warm
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cold — an illness
  18. capital — money
  19. board — a committee
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. current — happening now
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. nail — for a hammer

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