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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: stock · board · hand · season · key · degree · band · current

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. current — electric
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stock — shares
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. board — a committee
  13. key — for a lock
  14. current — of water
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stock — goods
  17. hand — help
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. band — a music group
  23. current — happening now
  24. band — a ring

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