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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mug — a face
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pop — soda
  5. bark — to shout
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bank — for money
  10. pop — to visit
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. branch — a division
  13. march — the month
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mug — to rob
  16. march — music
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. march — the month
  20. mug — a cup
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pop — music

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