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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: bowl · bank · cell · face · branch · degree

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. degree — from a university
  3. face — to point toward
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bank — for money
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bank — of a river
  15. cell — a phone
  16. face — to confront
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank

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