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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. branch — a division
  4. degree — temperature
  5. saw — the tool
  6. can — a tin
  7. race — humankind
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. race — the arms race
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. race — a contest
  14. can — a tin
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. sharp — clever
  17. press — to push
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. can — to be able to
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. stock — shares
  24. branch — of a tree

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