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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. current — electric
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a hole
  10. chip — to eat
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. pitch — completely
  16. current — happening now
  17. capital — money
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. season — in sport
  24. current — of water

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