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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spring — the season
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bass — low music
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — from a university
  11. object — a thing
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. degree — an amount
  15. object — to protest
  16. degree — temperature
  17. branch — a division
  18. object — an aim
  19. spring — of water
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wax — to grow
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bass — the fish

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