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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · mine · straw · pitcher · current · court · fine · capital

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. capital — money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. current — of water
  7. current — happening now
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. court — of law
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fine — all right
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. clip — for paper
  16. court — of a king
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. clip — a video
  22. court — for sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fine — high quality

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