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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rush — hurry
  7. current — electric
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pop — music
  10. current — happening now
  11. chair — a leader
  12. branch — a division
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pop — to visit
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. band — a music group
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. dip — to sink
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. degree — an amount
  23. current — of water
  24. degree — temperature

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