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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: bulb · fall · current · saw · branch · degree · cap · hide

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. degree — temperature
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. degree — from a university
  5. current — electric
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fall — to drop
  8. current — happening now
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fall — the season
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cap — a lid
  17. degree — an amount
  18. current — of water
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bulb — for light
  21. saw — the tool
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bulb — for light
  24. saw — the tool

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