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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — humankind
  6. charge — a price
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. branch — a division
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. race — the arms race
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. degree — temperature
  14. track — a path
  15. race — a contest
  16. scale — in music
  17. track — to keep track
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. charge — in control
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. degree — an amount
  22. charge — electricity
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cell — in a prison

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