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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. current — happening now
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — money
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. current — electric
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. current — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. pop — soda
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pop — to visit
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. land — to come down
  21. capital — a city
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. land — a country
  24. ruler — for measuring

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