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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — happening now
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. current — electric
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. clip — a video
  9. branch — a division
  10. squash — the sport
  11. plane — a tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — from a university
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. clip — to cut
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bark — to shout
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. branch — of a bank

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