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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mark — a grade
  4. staff — employees
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. degree — an amount
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. ground — the earth
  12. hand — help
  13. mark — a trace
  14. degree — temperature
  15. branch — a division
  16. ground — a position
  17. degree — from a university
  18. branch — of a bank

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