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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. court — for sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. suit — in cards
  10. current — happening now
  11. court — of a king
  12. suit — clothes
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kid — child
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a city
  18. current — electric
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. current — of water
  21. court — of law
  22. capital — money
  23. suit — to fit
  24. racket — for tennis

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