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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: bank · field · spell · drill · dip · clip · current · degree

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spell — magic
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. spell — letters
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. field — farmland
  14. dip — to sink
  15. field — a subject
  16. drill — army training
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. drill — a practice
  20. degree — an amount
  21. spell — a short time
  22. clip — to cut
  23. current — happening now
  24. bank — for money

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