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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: capital · ball · degree · swing · chip · current · fan · trunk

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. chip — to eat
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ball — a great time
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chip — for betting
  11. current — happening now
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. current — electric
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ball — a dance
  18. current — of water
  19. degree — from a university
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. capital — a city
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. capital — money

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