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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. branch — a division
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. spring — of water
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. object — to protest
  7. pop — soda
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pop — to visit
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spring — a coil
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. track — a song
  16. spring — the season
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. track — a path
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. track — to keep track
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — a thing
  24. pop — music

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