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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: current · band · kid · field · face · pit · degree · chip

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. current — of water
  3. field — for sport
  4. chip — for betting
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. pit — a hole
  8. chip — to eat
  9. current — happening now
  10. degree — temperature
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. face — part of the head
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pit — in a race
  15. band — a music group
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. face — to point toward
  19. current — electric
  20. kid — to tease
  21. degree — an amount
  22. field — farmland
  23. face — to confront
  24. field — a subject

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