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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. lean — thin
  4. kid — child
  5. degree — from a university
  6. key — in music
  7. cap — a hat
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cell — in biology
  10. ground — a position
  11. key — the most important part
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. kid — to tease
  14. branch — a division
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cell — a phone
  17. degree — an amount
  18. key — for a lock
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cap — of ice
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ground — the earth
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. cell — in a prison

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