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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. root — of a plant
  3. swing — to play on
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. swing — music
  7. chip — for betting
  8. march — the month
  9. chip — to eat
  10. degree — from a university
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of law
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. march — music
  15. degree — temperature
  16. root — the cause
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. root — of a word
  20. court — of a king
  21. degree — an amount
  22. branch — a division
  23. court — for sport
  24. swing — in golf

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