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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: current · arm · shower · capital · march · bat · stand · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. capital — money
  10. march — music
  11. current — of water
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. capital — a city
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. stand — to bear
  16. shower — rain
  17. current — happening now
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. current — electric
  21. fork — in a road
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. march — the month

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