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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. branch — a division
  3. last — to go on
  4. degree — an amount
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. mug — a face
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mug — a cup
  9. staff — employees
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitch — completely
  14. season — of the year
  15. last — final
  16. mug — to rob
  17. degree — from a university
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. season — in sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. last — finally
  24. chest — of your body

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