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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · bass · nail · board · cell · current · wound · cold

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. capital — a city
  5. bass — low music
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. current — happening now
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. capital — money
  11. board — a committee
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. board — to get on
  17. current — of water
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. current — electric
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — a phone

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