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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rule — government
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. last — finally
  7. face — to confront
  8. last — to go on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rule — a law
  14. degree — from a university
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. face — to point toward
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — final
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. face — part of the head

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