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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: current · capital · row · trunk · mark · field · leaves · squash

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. squash — to crush
  3. field — farmland
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. current — electric
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. mark — a grade
  11. field — for sport
  12. current — happening now
  13. capital — money
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. field — a subject
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. capital — a city
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mark — a trace
  24. squash — the sport

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