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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: current · vault · snap · capital · land · pit · wake · lean

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — money
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — thin
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. snap — to click
  7. lean — to bend
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. current — electric
  10. capital — a city
  11. land — a country
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wake — a trail
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. vault — a safe
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. pit — a hole
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — in a race
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. land — to come down
  24. capital — a big letter

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