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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 120 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: chest · ground · branch · fine · degree · board · current · clip

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. chest — of your body
  3. current — of water
  4. ground — the earth
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. clip — a video
  10. current — happening now
  11. clip — for paper
  12. board — to get on
  13. chest — a box
  14. fine — all right
  15. degree — from a university
  16. branch — a division
  17. fine — high quality
  18. ground — crushed
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — of your body
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — a committee
  24. degree — temperature

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