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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: capital · face · fork · wind · cell · suit · current · scale

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. face — to confront
  5. current — of water
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wind — moving air
  9. face — to point toward
  10. scale — size or range
  11. capital — money
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. scale — in music
  15. capital — a city
  16. face — part of the head
  17. suit — to fit
  18. cell — a phone
  19. suit — clothes
  20. suit — in cards
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. 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