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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: hand · current · degree · last · mate · game · pit · stand

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mate — a partner
  4. stand — to bear
  5. current — happening now
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. hand — help
  9. pit — a hole
  10. last — finally
  11. degree — from a university
  12. game — wild animals
  13. last — to go on
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mate — a friend
  16. pit — in a race
  17. last — final
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. mate — to breed

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