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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. sharp — clever
  3. roll — a list
  4. current — happening now
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — money
  8. current — electric
  9. capital — a city
  10. roll — a cake
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. current — of water
  13. last — final
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bank — for money
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. last — to go on
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bank — for money
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. last — finally

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