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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. pop — soda
  3. current — electric
  4. pop — music
  5. tear — to rip
  6. court — for sport
  7. charge — a price
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. court — of a king
  10. charge — electricity
  11. tear — from crying
  12. charge — in control
  13. capital — a city
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. court — of law
  18. current — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. pop — to visit
  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