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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. branch — a division
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. net — in sport
  13. degree — from a university
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. band — a ring
  16. wind — moving air
  17. degree — temperature
  18. net — after costs
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rush — hurry
  22. band — a music group
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. dip — to sink

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