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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. capital — a city
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mate — to breed
  5. chip — to eat
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. capital — money
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hand — help
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mate — a friend
  12. current — electric
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. current — happening now
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mate — a partner
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chip — for betting
  21. drill — army training
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. current — of water
  24. drill — a practice

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