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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 116 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: clip · dip · ball · bank · sharp · degree · current · band

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. dip — to sink
  3. current — electric
  4. bank — for money
  5. ball — a dance
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bank — for money
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. degree — from a university
  12. band — a ring
  13. degree — temperature
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ball — a great time
  16. clip — a video
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bank — of a river
  23. current — of water
  24. degree — an amount

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