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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fine — all right
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. file — a line of people
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. current — happening now
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a document
  15. swing — music
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. current — electric
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. game — a match
  22. current — of water
  23. fine — high quality
  24. file — a tool

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