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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. branch — a division
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stock — goods
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. shower — rain
  12. tube — a container
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stock — shares
  19. bank — for money
  20. degree — temperature
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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