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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
468
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: cold · toast · chair · trunk · cabinet · capital · current · saw

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. chair — a leader
  3. toast — bread
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cold — not warm
  6. capital — a city
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. current — happening now
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — an illness
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. current — electric
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. capital — money
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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