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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 · game · mark · craft · current · cold · rock · drill

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — music
  4. game — a match
  5. current — happening now
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — a skill
  9. drill — a practice
  10. current — electric
  11. game — wild animals
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a grade
  14. drill — the tool
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. drill — army training
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. current — of water
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. mark — a trace
  23. degree — from a university
  24. craft — boats

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