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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. suit — in cards
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. stem — to come from
  6. branch — a division
  7. suit — to fit
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — crushed
  14. degree — temperature
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ground — a position
  21. suit — clothes
  22. degree — an amount
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in sport

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