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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — from a university
  3. band — a music group
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. branch — a division
  9. band — a ring
  10. object — to protest
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chip — to eat
  14. march — the month
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chip — for betting
  19. object — an aim
  20. object — a thing
  21. spring — of water
  22. march — music
  23. spring — the season
  24. band — a rubber band

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