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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: hand · degree · fine · craft · pass · pound · branch · pop

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. craft — a skill
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pass — a permit
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fine — all right
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fine — high quality
  10. degree — temperature
  11. craft — boats
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pop — soda
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pop — music
  18. hand — help
  19. branch — a division
  20. degree — an amount
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pound — a weight
  24. hand — part of the body

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