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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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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bank — for money
  5. row — to paddle
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wound — an injury
  8. current — electric
  9. bank — of a river
  10. row — a line
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. wound — an injury
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. current — of water
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. degree — temperature
  21. current — happening now
  22. degree — an amount
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bank — for money

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