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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · bear · season · spring · wind · fan · file · current

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. file — a tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. current — of water
  6. wind — moving air
  7. current — happening now
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. bear — the animal
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. file — a document
  22. current — electric
  23. season — in sport
  24. spring — of water

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