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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. object — an aim
  3. rush — hurry
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — a phone
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. object — to protest
  9. dip — to sink
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. degree — from a university
  13. rock — music
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. branch — a division
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cell — in biology
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. object — a thing
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. degree — an amount
  24. last — to go on

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