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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bank — for money
  7. scale — in music
  8. bank — of a river
  9. saw — the tool
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. scale — size or range
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bank — for money

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