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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: key · rash · swing · land · pound · capital · current · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. land — ground
  5. current — of water
  6. key — in music
  7. capital — a city
  8. rash — a series
  9. key — the most important part
  10. pound — a weight
  11. capital — money
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. swing — in golf
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. land — a country
  19. key — for a lock
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. land — to come down
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cold — the Cold War

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