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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. file — a tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. file — a document
  6. capital — a city
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. current — of water
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. current — electric
  23. drill — the tool
  24. capital — money

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