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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. current — happening now
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. current — of water
  5. game — wild animals
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. file — a line of people
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. last — final
  11. cell — in biology
  12. last — to go on
  13. degree — from a university
  14. file — a document
  15. branch — a division
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. game — a match
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. file — a tool
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. current — electric
  24. cell — a phone

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