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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. degree — temperature
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. hand — in cards
  5. charge — a price
  6. hand — help
  7. present — there
  8. bass — the fish
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. court — of a king
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bass — low music
  14. present — a gift
  15. degree — an amount
  16. charge — in control
  17. branch — a division
  18. present — the time now
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. degree — from a university
  21. court — for sport
  22. spring — the season
  23. court — of law
  24. charge — electricity

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