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

Word bank: wind · dip · kid · current · scale · capital · tear · foot

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. kid — child
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. dip — to sink
  6. foot — a measure
  7. scale — in music
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. current — happening now
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wind — moving air
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. scale — size or range
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. current — electric
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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