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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — from a university
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. object — an aim
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. branch — a division
  11. toast — bread
  12. object — to protest
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. object — a thing
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pitcher — a jug

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