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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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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: wave · branch · rule · chest · degree · club

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chest — a box
  4. club — a group
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rule — government
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. club — for dancing
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. club — for golf
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. branch — a division

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