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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. lean — thin
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. field — for sport
  5. branch — a division
  6. degree — an amount
  7. field — a subject
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. clip — to cut
  12. roll — a list
  13. rush — hurry
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. degree — from a university
  16. lean — to bend
  17. field — farmland
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. clip — for paper
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. clip — a video

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