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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. degree — from a university
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. degree — an amount
  7. net — for catching
  8. swing — to play on
  9. land — ground
  10. branch — a division
  11. net — after costs
  12. land — a country
  13. press — to push
  14. swing — in golf
  15. press — newspapers
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. press — a publisher
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. swing — music
  22. land — to come down
  23. net — in sport
  24. degree — temperature

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