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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — music
  3. rush — hurry
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. degree — temperature
  10. march — the month
  11. rule — a law
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. degree — from a university
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. degree — an amount
  16. march — music
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rule — government
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. branch — a division

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