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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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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 · clip · current · wave · branch · degree · wound · drill

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wound — an injury
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. clip — a video
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lean — thin
  15. clip — for paper
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — from a university
  23. current — happening now
  24. branch — a division

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