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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. rash — a series
  3. land — ground
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. rest — what's left
  6. branch — a division
  7. rock — music
  8. rest — a break
  9. snap — to click
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. rash — hasty
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. land — a country
  15. lean — thin
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. land — to come down
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rock — a stone
  22. lean — to bend
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rock — to move gently

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