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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 120 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: fall · wound · file · current · racket · pass · degree · branch

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. file — a tool
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. fall — the season
  10. current — of water
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fall — to drop
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fall — to drop
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. branch — a division
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. wound — an injury

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