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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: degree · pass · current · capital · cap · staff · spring · tear

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. current — electric
  7. cap — a lid
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cap — a hat
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — of water
  12. capital — money
  13. tear — to rip
  14. current — of water
  15. capital — a city
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spring — the season
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — a permit
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  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