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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 116 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: spring · ball · land · rock · last · pop · degree · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. land — to come down
  3. pop — to visit
  4. last — final
  5. ball — a dance
  6. spring — of water
  7. degree — temperature
  8. current — of water
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spring — the season
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pop — soda
  15. last — finally
  16. rock — music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. pop — music
  19. last — to go on
  20. current — electric
  21. rock — a stone
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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