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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.

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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: bowl · spring · can · current · capital · leaves · drill · degree

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. spring — of water
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. degree — temperature
  10. drill — a practice
  11. capital — money
  12. drill — army training
  13. current — happening now
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. current — electric
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. can — to be able to
  20. current — of water
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. can — a tin
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. spring — a coil

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