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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: rule · last · current · land · bear · wake · degree · vault

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. rule — government
  3. degree — from a university
  4. current — electric
  5. last — to go on
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rule — a law
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bear — the animal
  12. land — ground
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. vault — a safe
  15. current — happening now
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. last — final
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. last — finally
  20. land — a country
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bear — the animal
  23. land — to come down
  24. wake — a trail

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