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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: wound · current · drill · capital · lean · root · mouse · game

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wound — an injury
  3. current — electric
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. current — happening now
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — the tool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. wound — an injury
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lean — thin
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. root — the cause
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. root — of a word
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. current — of water
  24. game — a match

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