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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: content · mine · fall · swing · hand · current · fine · degree

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — from a university
  5. current — electric
  6. current — of water
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. hand — help
  10. fall — the season
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — for digging
  19. content — the amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fine — high quality
  22. content — happy
  23. fine — all right
  24. current — happening now

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