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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: chip · land · present · bark · shower · ball · degree · current

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. land — a country
  5. ball — a dance
  6. present — there
  7. chip — to eat
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. present — the time now
  10. shower — rain
  11. bark — to shout
  12. ball — a great time
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. current — happening now
  16. present — a gift
  17. degree — temperature
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. degree — from a university
  21. shower — to wash
  22. land — ground
  23. current — of water
  24. land — to come down

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