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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: march · capital · current · foot · lie · wound · bear · ground

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. foot — a measure
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. current — of water
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. march — the month
  7. lie — to recline
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. capital — a city
  11. ground — crushed
  12. march — music
  13. bear — the animal
  14. current — happening now
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bear — the animal
  19. march — the month
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. ground — a position
  23. current — electric
  24. capital — money

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