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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 · cap · fan · capital · row · roll · branch · lie

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lie — to recline
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. row — to paddle
  7. current — electric
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. current — happening now
  11. roll — a list
  12. cap — a lid
  13. roll — a cake
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cap — a hat
  17. current — of water
  18. row — a line
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cap — of ice

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