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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 124 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bound — certain
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bound — tied together
  10. pop — music
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mate — a friend
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pop — soda
  17. degree — temperature
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bound — obliged
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pop — to visit
  22. shower — rain
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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