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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: current · degree · cold · content · bank · safe · present · object

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cold — an illness
  3. current — happening now
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. content — happy
  6. object — an aim
  7. present — a gift
  8. degree — temperature
  9. present — there
  10. current — electric
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. bank — for money
  15. content — the amount
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. current — of water
  18. object — a thing
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. present — the time now
  23. degree — an amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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