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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. branch — a division
  5. pitch — completely
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pound — a weight
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. degree — temperature
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. deal — to handle
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. degree — an amount
  23. race — a contest
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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