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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: saw · degree · drill · straw · mark · bound · current · club

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. club — a group
  3. current — of water
  4. saw — the tool
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bound — obliged
  8. degree — temperature
  9. current — happening now
  10. drill — the tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. drill — army training
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. club — for dancing
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bound — certain
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. club — for golf
  21. current — electric
  22. bound — tied together
  23. degree — from a university
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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