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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. swing — to play on
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. can — a tin
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. content — happy
  10. degree — from a university
  11. branch — a division
  12. can — a tin
  13. swing — in golf
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. content — the amount
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. swing — music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. can — to be able to
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. lean — thin

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