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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. degree — temperature
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. band — a ring
  7. charge — in control
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. band — a music group
  15. saw — the tool
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. degree — an amount
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. charge — a price
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. dip — to sink
  22. charge — electricity
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — from a university

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