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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 120 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: bat · cap · current · drill · perch · last · capital · root

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. current — electric
  3. current — of water
  4. perch — the fish
  5. drill — a practice
  6. last — to go on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. last — final
  9. current — happening now
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cap — a hat
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. root — of a word
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. drill — the tool
  17. capital — a city
  18. cap — of ice
  19. last — finally
  20. drill — army training
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. capital — money
  24. cap — a lid

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