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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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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: current · racket · cap · row · wound · fall · track · capital

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cap — a hat
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. track — a song
  5. fall — to drop
  6. current — happening now
  7. wound — an injury
  8. current — of water
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. cap — of ice
  12. track — to keep track
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. track — a path
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. current — electric
  18. capital — money
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wound — an injury
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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