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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.

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: bat · jam · wound · degree · current · wave · capital · bear

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. wound — an injury
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wound — an injury
  6. degree — from a university
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. current — of water
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. bat — the animal
  18. current — electric
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. degree — an amount

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