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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: capital · clip · row · bark · lie · lean · arm · current

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. current — of water
  3. clip — to cut
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. current — happening now
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. capital — money
  10. row — a line
  11. capital — a city
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. row — to paddle
  15. current — electric
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. clip — a video
  21. bark — to shout
  22. lean — thin
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lie — to recline

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