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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. degree — from a university
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bark — to shout
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — a division
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. file — a tool
  15. land — ground
  16. degree — temperature
  17. land — to come down
  18. court — of law
  19. file — a line of people
  20. court — for sport
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. court — of a king
  23. file — a document
  24. land — a country

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