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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 120 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 · arm · game · capital · mine · mark · bowl · season

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. game — a match
  3. current — of water
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. season — in sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. season — of the year
  9. mine — for digging
  10. game — wild animals
  11. current — electric
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. current — happening now
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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