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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bass — low music
  3. degree — temperature
  4. object — to protest
  5. branch — a division
  6. rash — a series
  7. degree — from a university
  8. drill — a practice
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rash — hasty
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. object — a thing
  14. drill — the tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. drill — army training
  24. object — an aim

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