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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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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: net · race · degree · cap · lash · current · cue · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  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. land — to come down
  2. degree — from a university
  3. land — a country
  4. current — happening now
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. cue — a signal
  7. degree — an amount
  8. land — ground
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. net — in sport
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. net — after costs
  15. current — electric
  16. race — the arms race
  17. degree — temperature
  18. net — for catching
  19. race — a contest
  20. cap — of ice
  21. race — humankind
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — for pool
  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