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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 116 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: dip · bat · current · capital · object · hand · rule · fall

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hand — in cards
  3. capital — a city
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. capital — money
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — an aim
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fall — to drop
  12. current — happening now
  13. rule — a law
  14. fall — the season
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. hand — help
  18. object — a thing
  19. current — of water
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fall — to drop
  23. dip — to sink
  24. current — electric

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