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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: degree · race · track · current · wound · bay · tear · swing

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. swing — in golf
  3. race — a contest
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. swing — music
  6. track — a path
  7. race — the arms race
  8. degree — an amount
  9. current — happening now
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. current — electric
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. track — a song
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. wound — an injury
  21. race — humankind
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. tear — from crying

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