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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tear — from crying
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. season — of the year
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. object — to protest
  12. season — in sport
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — temperature
  16. object — an aim
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. tear — to rip
  21. branch — a division
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. degree — an amount
  24. object — a thing

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