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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. club — a group
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bat — the animal
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. branch — a division
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. club — for golf
  18. wind — moving air

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