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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 · bulb · hide · shower · ground · chest · mark · capital

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. ground — the earth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ground — crushed
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. current — of water
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chest — a box
  11. current — electric
  12. bulb — for light
  13. current — happening now
  14. shower — to wash
  15. capital — a city
  16. mark — a trace
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. capital — money
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. ground — a position
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. shower — rain

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