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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. band — a ring
  7. bass — low music
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. object — a thing
  10. current — happening now
  11. degree — from a university
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. degree — an amount
  14. object — an aim
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. plane — a tool
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bass — the fish
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. band — a music group

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