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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 116 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. degree — temperature
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — a division
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bound — certain

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