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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. current — electric
  4. current — happening now
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. last — to go on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. present — the time now
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. present — a gift
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. present — there
  20. capital — a city
  21. current — of water
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. wound — an injury

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