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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: hand · wave · fall · clip · current · kick · mug · capital

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. capital — money
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. current — happening now
  5. mug — a cup
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. capital — a city
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. clip — a video
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mug — a face
  13. current — electric
  14. hand — help
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kick — in football
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fall — the season

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