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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spell — magic
  6. degree — temperature
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spell — letters
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. branch — a division
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. row — a line
  21. degree — from a university
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lean — thin
  24. spell — a short time

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