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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: land · swing · field · current · capital · nail · cell · scale

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. field — for sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. cell — a phone
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. capital — a city
  8. swing — music
  9. land — ground
  10. field — farmland
  11. swing — in golf
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. current — happening now
  14. scale — size or range
  15. field — a subject
  16. capital — money
  17. scale — in music
  18. current — electric
  19. land — a country
  20. cell — in biology
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. swing — to play on
  24. cell — in a prison

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