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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: fan · chest · chip · bulb · fork · degree · current · race

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chip — to eat
  5. race — humankind
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. race — a contest
  8. bulb — for light
  9. current — of water
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chest — a box
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. current — happening now
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. fork — in a road
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bulb — of a plant

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