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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. branch — a division
  4. mate — a partner
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. mate — a friend
  9. swing — in golf
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. row — a line
  18. mate — to breed
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wound — an injury
  21. degree — an amount
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. degree — from a university

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