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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. drill — army training
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bore — to tire
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bore — to drill
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cell — a phone
  18. drill — the tool
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wound — an injury
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bat — the animal

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