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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rest — what's left
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rest — a break
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. shower — rain
  13. cell — in biology
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mark — a grade
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pop — music
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. spring — of water
  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