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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: cold · march · degree · pit · charge · prune · stick · current

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. degree — from a university
  3. current — happening now
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — a hole
  6. current — of water
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. degree — an amount
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — in control
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. current — electric
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. march — music
  20. pit — in a race
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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