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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: cap · chair · bat · degree · clip · saw · branch · temple

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. cap — a hat
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — a video
  7. cap — of ice
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. saw — the tool
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. saw — the tool
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. branch — a division
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bat — the animal
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. clip — for paper
  24. chair — a leader

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