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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: pop · press · wound · firm · hand · current · degree · band

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. current — electric
  4. press — newspapers
  5. wound — an injury
  6. firm — a company
  7. current — of water
  8. band — a music group
  9. hand — help
  10. current — happening now
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. hand — in cards
  14. press — to push
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a ring
  17. pop — music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. firm — decided
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wound — an injury
  22. firm — steady
  23. press — a publisher
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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