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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. suit — in cards
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. lean — thin
  6. degree — from a university
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pop — soda
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. race — humankind
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pop — music
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. shower — rain
  19. suit — to fit
  20. ball — a dance
  21. suit — clothes
  22. race — a contest
  23. pop — to visit
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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