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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: ball · branch · lie · degree · chair · saw · last · shower

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. last — final
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. degree — an amount
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ball — a great time
  10. lie — to recline
  11. branch — a division
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. last — finally
  17. chair — a leader
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. last — to go on
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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