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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 120 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: current · arm · track · rule · capital · fan · net · band

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. current — electric
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. band — a ring
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. capital — money
  12. track — a song
  13. current — happening now
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rule — a law
  18. track — a path
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. net — after costs
  21. capital — a city
  22. net — in sport
  23. current — of water
  24. net — for catching

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