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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: current · swing · track · stem · degree · wind · bank · date

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bank — of a river
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wind — moving air
  6. track — a path
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bank — for money
  9. current — happening now
  10. track — a song
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bank — for money
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stem — to come from
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. degree — temperature
  24. date — the fruit

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