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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: chest · branch · degree · bank · firm · bat · craft · swing

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. firm — a company
  4. chest — a box
  5. craft — boats
  6. bank — for money
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chest — of your body
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bank — of a river
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. branch — a division
  14. bat — the animal
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bank — for money
  18. degree — from a university
  19. firm — decided
  20. swing — music
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. swing — in golf
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bat — in an idiom

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