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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: jam · hand · current · straw · cap · land · pound · degree

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. land — to come down
  7. cap — a lid
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hand — help
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cap — a hat
  15. current — of water
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — from a university
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. land — ground
  21. current — happening now
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cap — of ice
  24. land — a country

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