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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: cabinet · mark · file · pitcher · net · degree · content · branch

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. net — after costs
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. net — in sport
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. degree — temperature
  12. file — a document
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. file — a tool
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. degree — an amount
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. net — for catching
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. mark — a grade
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pitcher — a jug

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