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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: last · current · capital · tear · saw · spring · bowl · lie

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. capital — a city
  7. spring — a coil
  8. current — happening now
  9. spring — the season
  10. capital — money
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. last — final
  19. spring — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. current — of water
  24. lie — to recline

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