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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: rush · net · current · wake · field · drill · land · capital

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. current — happening now
  8. field — farmland
  9. land — to come down
  10. net — in sport
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. current — electric
  14. net — after costs
  15. drill — army training
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. wake — a trail
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. net — for catching

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