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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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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: kick · mate · capital · mine · cell · current

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. current — happening now
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mate — a friend
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. capital — a city
  13. cell — in biology
  14. current — of water
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — money
  18. 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