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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. degree — from a university
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. prune — to trim
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. content — happy
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. degree — temperature
  12. shower — rain
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. degree — an amount
  22. content — the amount
  23. spring — a coil
  24. prune — to trim

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