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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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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. degree — from a university
  3. branch — a division
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. degree — temperature
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. content — happy
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chest — of your body
  14. swing — in golf
  15. tube — a container
  16. degree — an amount
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. content — the amount
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. swing — music
  21. chest — a box
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. swing — to play on

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