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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: capital · land · squash · file · mug · fork · tube · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. mug — a face
  3. current — of water
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. current — electric
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. fork — in a road
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. squash — the sport
  14. tube — the underground
  15. mug — to rob
  16. file — a document
  17. tube — a container
  18. capital — a city
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. file — a tool
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mug — a cup
  23. land — a country
  24. file — a line of people

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