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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bark — to shout
  4. degree — temperature
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mate — to breed
  8. shower — to wash
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mate — a friend
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fall — the season
  15. shower — rain
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. fall — to drop
  21. degree — an amount
  22. branch — a division
  23. rock — music
  24. mine — an explosive

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