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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kick — in football
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. rush — hurry
  15. degree — temperature
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. branch — a division
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bass — low music
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bass — the fish

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