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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mark — a trace
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mark — a grade
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — happy
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — not warm
  16. squash — to crush
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. content — the amount
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. degree — an amount
  23. cold — an illness
  24. content — videos and posts

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