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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. current — of water
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. field — a subject
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pit — in a race
  10. race — humankind
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pit — a hole
  13. field — farmland
  14. capital — a city
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. race — a contest
  19. capital — money
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — electric
  22. race — the arms race
  23. field — for sport
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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