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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. game — a match
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. last — to go on
  8. degree — from a university
  9. land — to come down
  10. ground — a position
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. degree — an amount
  14. land — ground
  15. degree — temperature
  16. kid — child
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. game — wild animals
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. last — finally
  21. ground — the earth
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. land — a country
  24. last — final

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