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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: plane · clip · current · capital · file · race · spring · court

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. plane — an aircraft
  2. file — a document
  3. plane — a tool
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. court — for sport
  9. spring — of water
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. current — happening now
  12. court — of a king
  13. clip — to cut
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. clip — for paper
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — a video
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. court — of law
  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