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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bank — for money
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bank — of a river
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fork — in a road
  8. degree — from a university
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. current — happening now
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bank — for money
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. current — of water
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. current — electric
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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