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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: bay · ball · hand · branch · ground · degree · current · cabinet

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hand — in cards
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ground — a position
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. degree — temperature
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. ball — a great time
  14. current — electric
  15. hand — help
  16. current — happening now
  17. ground — the earth
  18. current — of water
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. branch — of a bank

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