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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
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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: wind · drill · capital · pitcher · content · current · safe · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. capital — money
  3. drill — army training
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. track — to keep track
  6. current — of water
  7. drill — a practice
  8. content — the amount
  9. drill — the tool
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. current — electric
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. wind — moving air
  16. track — a song
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. content — happy
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. capital — a city
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. current — happening now
  24. wind — to turn a key

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