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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. current — of water
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. current — electric
  5. rest — what's left
  6. object — a thing
  7. row — a line
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. current — happening now
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. object — to protest
  16. capital — money
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. object — an aim
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rest — a break
  24. row — a quarrel

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