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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: degree · rest · rule · ball · current · kid · field · fork

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. field — for sport
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rule — a law
  7. current — electric
  8. field — farmland
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. ball — a great time
  13. rule — government
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. field — a subject
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rest — a break
  22. current — happening now
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. ball — a round shape

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