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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: degree · capital · board · court · pitcher · spring · object · current

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. current — of water
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. board — a committee
  7. capital — money
  8. court — of a king
  9. object — an aim
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — temperature
  12. object — to protest
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. court — of law
  16. current — electric
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a city
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. object — a thing
  24. current — happening now

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