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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. field — farmland
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bear — the animal
  11. field — a subject
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cell — in biology
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. branch — a division
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. field — for sport
  19. bear — the animal
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. stock — goods
  23. degree — from a university
  24. lash — an eyelash

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