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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: date · current · staff · face · capital · trunk · pitcher · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. current — electric
  3. face — part of the head
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. staff — a stick
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. staff — employees
  12. face — to confront
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. capital — a city
  16. staff — employees
  17. date — the fruit
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. current — happening now
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. current — of water
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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