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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: hand · capital · game · current · sharp · bear · net · track

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. current — of water
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. capital — a city
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. bear — the animal
  11. track — a song
  12. game — wild animals
  13. current — happening now
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bear — the animal
  20. track — to keep track
  21. net — for catching
  22. game — a match
  23. capital — money
  24. current — electric

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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