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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: bowl · clip · fan · capital · current · stick · wave · rest

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. current — electric
  8. current — happening now
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. current — of water
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — money
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — a video
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. capital — a city
  21. rest — a break
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wave — with your hand

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