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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: season · capital · current · tear · cue · rush · mark · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. season — of the year
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cue — a signal
  5. mark — a grade
  6. season — in sport
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cue — a hint
  10. current — electric
  11. capital — a city
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cue — for pool
  16. mark — a trace
  17. capital — money
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. tear — from crying
  20. current — happening now
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. current — of water
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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