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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: mine · march · capital · face · cue · current · bound · straw

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bound — certain
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. march — music
  6. current — electric
  7. face — to point toward
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cue — for pool
  10. bound — tied together
  11. current — of water
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. capital — a city
  15. current — happening now
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. march — the month
  18. face — to confront
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. face — part of the head

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