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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. squash — to crush
  5. clip — a video
  6. degree — an amount
  7. board — to get on
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. branch — a division
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bore — to tire
  15. wax — to grow
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. degree — temperature
  19. staff — a stick
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. board — a committee
  22. bore — to drill
  23. squash — the sport
  24. clip — for paper

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