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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: shower · deal · cabinet · racket · cell · temple · capital · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. current — electric
  10. cell — a phone
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cell — in biology
  17. shower — rain
  18. capital — a city
  19. current — happening now
  20. deal — to handle
  21. capital — money
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. deal — a big deal

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