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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. craft — a skill
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spell — a short time
  6. degree — temperature
  7. branch — a division
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ball — a dance
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a great time
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spell — letters
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. craft — boats
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spell — magic

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