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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 120 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: plane · capital · root · court · current · cold · pit · row

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. root — of a word
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. capital — a city
  6. root — the cause
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. court — for sport
  12. cold — not warm
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. root — of a plant
  17. court — of a king
  18. current — electric
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. capital — money
  21. row — a line
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — of law
  24. plane — a tool

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