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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. swing — in golf
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. branch — a division
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fall — the season
  8. kid — to tease
  9. swing — music
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fall — to drop
  12. swing — to play on
  13. drill — the tool
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — child
  19. degree — an amount
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. drill — army training
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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