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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mark — a grade
  3. current — of water
  4. mark — a trace
  5. capital — money
  6. cold — an illness
  7. capital — a city
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. club — for golf
  13. current — electric
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cold — not warm
  17. board — a committee
  18. current — happening now
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. shower — rain
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. club — a group
  24. shower — to wash

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