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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: fork · arm · degree · wax · shower · branch · mouse · key

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. branch — a division
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — in music
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — to wash
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wax — to grow
  17. shower — rain
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. fork — in a road
  24. degree — an amount

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