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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · cold · kick · degree · leaves · track · board · current

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. current — electric
  5. track — a path
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. chest — of your body
  8. current — happening now
  9. cold — not warm
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. board — to get on
  13. degree — from a university
  14. board — a committee
  15. track — a song
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chest — of your body
  21. current — of water
  22. track — to keep track
  23. kick — in football
  24. leaves — of a tree

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