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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: wake · capital · hand · mate · current · bark · mug · rock

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bark — to shout
  5. hand — help
  6. mate — a partner
  7. current — of water
  8. capital — money
  9. mug — a face
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mug — to rob
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. current — happening now
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. capital — a city
  19. rock — music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mug — a cup
  23. mate — to breed
  24. rock — a stone

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