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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. branch — a division
  3. fork — in a road
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. roll — a cake
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. roll — a list
  8. dip — to sink
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wax — to grow
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. field — for sport
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. field — farmland
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. degree — an amount
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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