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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. last — final
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. branch — a division
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. last — to go on
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rock — a stone
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rock — music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rush — hurry
  23. degree — from a university
  24. last — finally

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