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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · pop · race · current · bat · straw · patient · court

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. court — of a king
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. court — of law
  7. race — a contest
  8. current — electric
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. pop — to visit
  11. race — the arms race
  12. capital — money
  13. court — for sport
  14. bat — the animal
  15. race — humankind
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — a city
  18. pop — soda
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. current — of water
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. current — happening now
  24. capital — a big letter

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