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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: rash · staff · march · bat · capital · tear · plane · current

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — a city
  3. rash — a series
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. current — happening now
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bat — the animal
  8. staff — employees
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. staff — employees
  11. current — of water
  12. capital — money
  13. march — the month
  14. plane — a tool
  15. current — electric
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tear — to rip
  22. staff — a stick
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bat — in an idiom

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