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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 124 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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. drill — a practice
  3. suit — in cards
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. drill — the tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. suit — to fit
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — farmland
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. field — for sport
  17. suit — clothes
  18. drill — army training
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. field — a subject
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. branch — a division

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