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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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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: cold · racket · fine · current · stick · degree · wind · bowl

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. current — electric
  4. cold — not warm
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fine — high quality
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fine — all right
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. current — happening now
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. current — of water
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. degree — temperature
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — the Cold War

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