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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.

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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 · pit · club · band · stick · hand · file · current

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. club — a group
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. current — happening now
  5. pit — in a race
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hand — in cards
  8. current — of water
  9. club — for dancing
  10. file — a tool
  11. hand — help
  12. pit — a hole
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. file — a line of people
  15. band — a music group
  16. club — for golf
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. band — a ring
  21. degree — from a university
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. current — electric
  24. file — a document

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