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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. degree — from a university
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. spring — the season
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bank — for money
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wax — to grow
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bank — for money
  18. spring — a coil
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spring — of water
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cold — an illness

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