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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: bank · staff · race · branch · season · court · band · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. court — of a king
  5. degree — from a university
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. race — humankind
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bank — for money
  14. band — a ring
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — of a river
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. season — of the year
  21. branch — a division
  22. degree — an amount
  23. band — a music group
  24. race — a contest

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