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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. degree — temperature
  3. last — final
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wax — to grow
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pitch — completely
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. clip — a video
  24. pass — a permit

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