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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pop — music
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. net — after costs
  8. degree — from a university
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — in sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. branch — a division
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. pop — to visit
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — an amount
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pop — soda

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