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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. land — to come down
  7. fall — the season
  8. degree — an amount
  9. firm — steady
  10. cold — an illness
  11. firm — a company
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. degree — from a university
  14. branch — a division
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. degree — temperature
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. firm — decided
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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