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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. club — a group
  3. degree — an amount
  4. branch — a division
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. current — happening now
  7. mine — for digging
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. land — a country
  10. spell — a short time
  11. current — electric
  12. spell — magic
  13. club — for golf
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spell — letters
  16. land — ground
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fine — all right
  19. club — for dancing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. fine — high quality
  22. land — to come down
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. mine — an explosive

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