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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: lash · field · branch · current · wake · last · degree · snap

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. degree — an amount
  4. field — a subject
  5. snap — to click
  6. current — of water
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. branch — a division
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wake — a trail
  14. last — to go on
  15. field — farmland
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. last — finally
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. field — for sport
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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