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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bore · capital · shower · current · mine · object · degree · net

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. net — for catching
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. current — happening now
  8. shower — rain
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. net — in sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. degree — temperature
  13. object — an aim
  14. capital — a city
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. capital — money
  18. degree — an amount
  19. current — electric
  20. bore — to tire
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. shower — to wash
  24. net — after costs

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