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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: roll · spring · current · row · season · bound · bat · degree

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — an amount
  3. roll — a cake
  4. current — happening now
  5. season — of the year
  6. current — of water
  7. roll — a list
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — the animal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. row — a line
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. spring — the season
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bound — obliged
  23. current — electric
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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