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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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. file — a tool
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. kid — child
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. craft — boats
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lean — thin
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bass — low music
  12. rule — a law
  13. branch — a division
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — to tease
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. lean — to bend
  24. rule — government

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