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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kick — in football
  4. current — of water
  5. track — a path
  6. land — ground
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. band — a music group
  10. current — electric
  11. chip — to eat
  12. current — happening now
  13. rest — what's left
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chip — for betting
  19. rest — a break
  20. band — a ring
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. land — a country
  23. rest — what's left
  24. land — to come down

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