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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. stand — to bear
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cap — a hat
  15. can — a tin
  16. cap — of ice
  17. game — wild animals
  18. degree — from a university
  19. can — a tin
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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