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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.

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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: pitcher · bound · capital · current · degree · charge · cold · chair

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. bound — certain
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. charge — in control
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. charge — a price
  8. current — happening now
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. degree — from a university
  11. charge — electricity
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bound — obliged
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. current — electric
  18. capital — a city
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bound — tied together
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cold — not warm

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