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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. court — of a king
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. staff — employees
  10. degree — temperature
  11. branch — a division
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. spring — a coil
  20. court — for sport
  21. degree — an amount
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. court — of law

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