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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: object · current · mine · board · wake · game · branch · capital

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. board — a committee
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. board — to get on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. game — wild animals
  11. current — happening now
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. capital — a city
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wake — a trail
  16. capital — money
  17. current — of water
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — to protest
  20. branch — a division
  21. current — electric
  22. game — a match
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. object — an aim

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