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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mate — a partner
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bulb — for light
  11. branch — a division
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. mate — to breed
  14. race — humankind
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. craft — boats
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mate — a friend
  20. hand — help
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. hand — in cards
  24. leaves — lets stay

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