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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: rash · track · cold · capital · chest · current · mug · plane

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rash — a series
  3. current — happening now
  4. track — a path
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mug — a cup
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. current — of water
  13. mug — a face
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. track — a song
  17. chest — of your body
  18. track — to keep track
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. capital — a city
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mug — to rob
  23. capital — a big letter
  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