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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: lean · current · chest · pop · capital · ball · tear · branch

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. pop — to visit
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. ball — a great time
  8. pop — music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chest — of your body
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. branch — a division
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a dance
  16. chest — a box
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — happening now
  20. pop — soda
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lean — thin
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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