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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — from a university
  6. board — to get on
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. track — a song
  9. board — a committee
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mate — a partner
  13. branch — a division
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — an amount
  16. clip — a video
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. clip — to cut
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. track — a path
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. track — to keep track
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. branch — of a bank

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