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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. season — in sport
  3. branch — a division
  4. land — to come down
  5. rush — hurry
  6. lean — to bend
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. tear — to rip
  10. land — ground
  11. bank — for money
  12. land — a country
  13. season — of the year
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bank — for money
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bank — of a river
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — thin
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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