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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 · fan · rush · current · kick · mate · shower · stand

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. current — electric
  7. kick — in football
  8. mate — a partner
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. degree — temperature
  16. shower — rain
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. rush — hurry
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. stand — to bear

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