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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: lie · current · spring · pit · degree · field · rule · clip

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pit — a hole
  3. spring — the season
  4. current — of water
  5. lie — to recline
  6. rule — government
  7. current — happening now
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pit — in a race
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. clip — to cut
  14. current — electric
  15. degree — an amount
  16. field — for sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spring — of water
  19. rule — a law
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. clip — a video
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rule — to rule out

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