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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — temperature
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a city
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wax — to grow
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. squash — the sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. capital — money
  18. branch — a division
  19. squash — to crush
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. clip — a video
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wax — in the ear

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