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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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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: lean · wound · racket · race · degree · current · cell · coach

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wound — an injury
  5. degree — from a university
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. current — of water
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lean — thin
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cell — a phone
  13. race — a contest
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. race — humankind
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. current — happening now
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. lean — to bend
  21. current — electric
  22. degree — an amount
  23. race — the arms race
  24. racket — for tennis

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