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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: file · capital · dip · spring · bound · fan · current · degree

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spring — the season
  3. bound — obliged
  4. file — a line of people
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. capital — money
  9. current — happening now
  10. bound — certain
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. current — of water
  14. bound — tied together
  15. degree — temperature
  16. file — a document
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spring — of water
  20. current — electric
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. dip — to sink
  23. file — a tool
  24. capital — a city

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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