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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 120 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. present — there
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. can — a tin
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bass — low music
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. spell — letters
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. can — a tin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. present — a gift
  18. degree — an amount
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. spell — magic
  23. degree — temperature
  24. present — the time now

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