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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. key — in music
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. rule — a law
  10. degree — from a university
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. key — the most important part
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rule — government
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. ground — crushed
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fan — to cool the air

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