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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. perch — the fish
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. degree — from a university
  8. race — the arms race
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. race — humankind
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. race — a contest
  16. chair — a leader
  17. degree — temperature
  18. branch — a division
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. season — of the year
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. degree — an amount

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