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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · court · degree · ball · clip · root · current · tube

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — of water
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. court — of law
  7. clip — to cut
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — of a plant
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. tube — the underground
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ball — a great time
  14. clip — for paper
  15. court — of a king
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. wake — a trail
  19. current — electric
  20. root — the cause
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. court — for sport
  24. clip — a video

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