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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: kid · degree · current · pass · mine · rest · mug · bat

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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 — of water
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mug — a face
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. current — electric
  15. current — happening now
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mug — to rob
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mine — for digging
  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