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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. degree — an amount
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mate — a friend
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. root — of a plant
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. root — the cause
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. branch — a division
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a partner
  24. root — of a word

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