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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · chair · pass · wind · hide · current

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pass — a permit
  5. current — of water
  6. current — happening now
  7. capital — money
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. current — electric
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. chair — a leader
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. capital — a city
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wind — to turn a key

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