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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: bat · degree · patient · fan · dip · branch · mine · current

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — for digging
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — an amount
  10. current — happening now
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. dip — to sink
  19. current — of water
  20. bat — the animal
  21. branch — a division
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. current — electric

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