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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 124 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bass — low music
  5. cell — a phone
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — to handle
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cell — in biology
  15. capital — money
  16. current — of water
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. current — electric
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. drill — a practice
  22. current — happening now
  23. bass — the fish
  24. drill — army training

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