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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. branch — a division
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. object — to protest
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stem — to come from
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — a thing
  18. board — a committee
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. degree — from a university

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