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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 116 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: bat · track · capital · band · current · firm · content · fork

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. content — happy
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. current — happening now
  5. firm — steady
  6. track — a song
  7. firm — a company
  8. capital — money
  9. band — a ring
  10. content — the amount
  11. current — of water
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. firm — decided
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. band — a music group
  17. track — to keep track
  18. capital — a city
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fork — in a road
  23. current — electric
  24. bat — for baseball

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