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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. press — to push
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. can — to be able to
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. press — newspapers
  11. capital — money
  12. branch — a division
  13. can — a tin
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. spring — of water
  16. bark — to shout
  17. press — a publisher
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. capital — a city
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. can — a tin
  24. degree — temperature

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