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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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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: degree · branch · cold · current · patient · rock · capital · wave

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. branch — a division
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. rock — a stone
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — of water
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. current — electric
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cold — not warm
  17. capital — a city
  18. rock — music
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. degree — an amount

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