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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. bound — certain
  6. bear — the animal
  7. current — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. chip — to eat
  10. spell — letters
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bound — obliged
  16. capital — a city
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. spell — magic
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spell — a short time

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