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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 · pitcher · season · spring · board · current · branch · hand

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. hand — in cards
  3. spring — the season
  4. current — electric
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. current — of water
  7. current — happening now
  8. degree — an amount
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. board — a committee
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. branch — a division
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. degree — from a university
  22. hand — help
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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