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

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

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. stock — shares
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — temperature
  6. club — a group
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. club — for dancing
  10. branch — a division
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chest — of your body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. stock — goods
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chest — a box
  20. club — for golf
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. rule — government

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