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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bank — of a river
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. swing — to play on
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. bank — for money
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. content — the amount
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bank — for money
  16. branch — a division
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. drill — the tool
  19. swing — music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. degree — an amount
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. degree — temperature
  24. swing — in golf

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