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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: ground · stand · file · degree · key · mine · current · spring

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. current — electric
  3. ground — the earth
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ground — a position
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. current — of water
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. degree — temperature
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — the most important part
  15. spring — of water
  16. file — a tool
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. file — a document
  19. current — happening now
  20. spring — the season
  21. key — in music
  22. file — a line of people
  23. degree — from a university
  24. ground — crushed

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