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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. net — for catching
  4. object — to protest
  5. net — after costs
  6. tube — a container
  7. rock — music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. object — an aim
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rush — hurry
  15. object — a thing
  16. drill — army training
  17. rock — a stone
  18. degree — temperature
  19. net — in sport
  20. drill — a practice
  21. branch — a division
  22. drill — the tool
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. degree — an amount

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