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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. press — a publisher
  6. ground — the earth
  7. object — to protest
  8. shower — to wash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. degree — an amount
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. ground — crushed
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. ground — a position
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. shower — rain
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. object — a thing
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. degree — temperature
  23. object — an aim
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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