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

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stem — to come from
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. club — for golf
  7. current — electric
  8. capital — money
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cap — of ice
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wax — to grow
  17. club — a group
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. club — for dancing
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. capital — a city
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. current — happening now

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