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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. suit — clothes
  5. ground — a position
  6. bark — to shout
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chest — of your body
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. suit — to fit
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. ground — the earth
  21. degree — an amount
  22. branch — a division
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chest — a box

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