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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: club · rash · spell · calf · hand · current · capital · face

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. capital — money
  3. hand — in cards
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. rash — hasty
  6. spell — letters
  7. hand — help
  8. spell — magic
  9. club — for dancing
  10. current — happening now
  11. club — a group
  12. face — part of the head
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. current — electric
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — to confront
  17. current — of water
  18. capital — a city
  19. rash — a series
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. spell — a short time

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