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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. capital — a city
  6. clip — a video
  7. current — of water
  8. season — of the year
  9. clip — for paper
  10. swing — music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hand — in cards
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. swing — to play on
  16. hand — help
  17. season — in sport
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. swing — in golf
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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