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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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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: last · drill · stand · clip · rock · degree · current · cap

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cap — of ice
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stand — to bear
  7. drill — the tool
  8. current — of water
  9. last — finally
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cap — a hat
  12. current — electric
  13. cap — a lid
  14. clip — a video
  15. drill — a practice
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. last — to go on
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — for paper
  21. drill — army training
  22. current — happening now
  23. rock — music
  24. stand — on your feet

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