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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bound — tied together
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. bound — obliged
  10. court — for sport
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. toast — bread
  13. bound — certain
  14. last — to go on
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. fork — in a road
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. branch — a division
  24. fork — a garden tool

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