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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 shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. degree — from a university
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. branch — a division
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rock — music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — clever
  16. mark — a trace
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rush — hurry
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pop — to visit
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — moving air

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