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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. kid — to tease
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. branch — a division
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. shower — rain
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pit — in a race
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pit — a hole
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. kid — child
  24. fork — in a road

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