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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: spell · pitch · cell · ruler · chair · current · bank · degree

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. degree — temperature
  3. current — of water
  4. degree — from a university
  5. current — electric
  6. bank — for money
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. current — happening now
  9. bank — for money
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. chair — a leader
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spell — letters
  18. bank — of a river
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. spell — a short time
  24. ruler — for measuring

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