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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chest — a box
  4. degree — an amount
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. perch — the fish
  7. last — to go on
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chest — of your body
  11. degree — temperature
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bat — the animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chest — of your body
  17. track — to keep track
  18. last — final
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. track — a song
  22. last — finally
  23. track — a path
  24. branch — of a bank

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