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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. current — electric
  3. stock — shares
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. current — of water
  6. cell — in biology
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. stock — goods
  9. branch — a division
  10. craft — boats
  11. net — after costs
  12. craft — a skill
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. current — happening now
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cell — a phone
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. degree — temperature
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. branch — of a bank

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