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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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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: current · pitcher · roll · degree · deal · swing · last · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. degree — from a university
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. last — final
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. current — of water
  8. swing — in golf
  9. rule — government
  10. roll — a list
  11. last — to go on
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. swing — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — to handle
  17. roll — a cake
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. degree — temperature
  20. last — finally
  21. swing — to play on
  22. current — happening now
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. current — electric

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