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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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 · capital · cold · degree · vault · coach

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. degree — temperature
  3. vault — a safe
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cold — an illness
  7. capital — money
  8. degree — an amount
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. current — electric
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cold — not warm
  17. capital — a city
  18. degree — from a university

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