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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 116 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: wake · current · cell · ground · key · object · pass · degree

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. current — electric
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. key — in music
  6. object — to protest
  7. ground — a position
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pass — a permit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — for a lock
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cell — a phone
  15. current — happening now
  16. object — a thing
  17. ground — the earth
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. object — an aim
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. ground — crushed
  23. degree — temperature
  24. current — of water

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