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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: perch · current · rule · sharp · field · degree · branch · content

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. content — happy
  3. field — a subject
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. content — the amount
  9. perch — the fish
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. branch — a division
  12. current — electric
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rule — a law
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rule — government
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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