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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. branch — a division
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. staff — employees
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. ball — a dance
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. fine — all right
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. deal — to handle
  15. ball — a great time
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stem — to come from
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. staff — a stick

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