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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. march — the month
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — temperature
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. march — the month
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. net — for catching
  10. tear — from crying
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. degree — from a university
  13. branch — a division
  14. dip — to sink
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. march — music
  19. tear — to rip
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. degree — an amount
  24. racket — a loud noise

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