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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. sharp — clever
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rush — hurry
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. kick — in football
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. degree — from a university
  20. branch — a division
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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