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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. current — of water
  3. board — to get on
  4. cap — of ice
  5. current — happening now
  6. pop — soda
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. scale — size or range
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pop — to visit
  11. capital — a city
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pop — music
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. capital — money
  17. cap — a lid
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cap — a hat
  20. current — electric
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — a committee

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