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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: roll · cold · current · last · game · pitcher · capital · safe

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cold — not warm
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. current — happening now
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. capital — money
  9. roll — a cake
  10. cold — an illness
  11. last — finally
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. last — to go on
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a match
  16. last — final
  17. current — of water
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. roll — a list
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. current — electric

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