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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 116 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — temperature
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. degree — from a university
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. face — to confront
  14. degree — an amount
  15. deal — to handle
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitch — completely
  20. saw — the tool
  21. face — to point toward
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  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