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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. net — for catching
  3. present — a gift
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. branch — a division
  7. kid — to tease
  8. present — there
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — after costs
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. net — in sport
  15. bark — to shout
  16. degree — from a university
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. present — the time now
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. degree — an amount
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bark — of a tree

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