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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 116 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: degree · mine · wound · pitcher · pass · current · row · key

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. current — electric
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. current — of water
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mine — for digging
  11. current — happening now
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — a permit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. degree — temperature
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wound — an injury
  21. row — a line
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. key — in music

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