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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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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: kick · pit · straw · current · rash · mark · degree · racket

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. pit — in a race
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. current — of water
  6. rash — a series
  7. kick — in football
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mark — a trace
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pit — a hole
  17. current — happening now
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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