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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: degree · band · temple · swing · spring · stock · current · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. degree — temperature
  6. band — a music group
  7. stock — goods
  8. current — of water
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. stock — shares
  11. spring — a coil
  12. band — a ring
  13. swing — to play on
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. current — happening now
  17. cold — not warm
  18. swing — music
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. swing — in golf
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. degree — from a university
  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