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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: content · capital · kick · straw · wind · current · bass · perch

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. perch — the fish
  3. current — of water
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. content — happy
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. current — electric
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. capital — money
  14. wind — moving air
  15. content — the amount
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. current — happening now
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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