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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · branch · rest · stick · pitcher · degree

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — in cards
  12. branch — a division
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hand — help
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rest — what's left

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