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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: current · staff · degree · last · cabinet · spell · racket · ground

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spell — a short time
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spell — letters
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. staff — employees
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ground — crushed
  15. degree — an amount
  16. current — happening now
  17. spell — magic
  18. current — of water
  19. ground — a position
  20. last — finally
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. last — final
  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