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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · swing · current · degree · land · clip · row · stick

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. clip — to cut
  3. degree — from a university
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. land — a country
  6. row — a line
  7. rule — a law
  8. current — electric
  9. row — to paddle
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. swing — to play on
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. land — to come down
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. rule — government
  19. degree — an amount
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — ground
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — of water

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