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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — a division
  3. cap — a lid
  4. pound — a weight
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — an amount
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. capital — money
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spring — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. degree — from a university
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. capital — a city
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fall — the season
  24. cap — of ice

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