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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — not warm
  13. key — the most important part
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. key — for a lock
  18. dip — to sink
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. rush — hurry
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. key — in music
  23. degree — temperature
  24. dip — a sauce

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