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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. capital — a city
  3. rock — music
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. snap — to click
  7. current — happening now
  8. fine — all right
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. ball — a great time
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. current — electric
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fine — high quality
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ball — a dance
  23. capital — money
  24. rock — a stone

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