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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. swing — music
  4. current — of water
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. row — a line
  9. mug — a face
  10. field — for sport
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wind — moving air
  13. swing — in golf
  14. chest — of your body
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. current — electric
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — to rob
  21. current — happening now
  22. chest — a box
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. swing — to play on

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