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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: branch · bat · field · pit · mouse · bowl · degree · row

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pit — in a race
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bat — the animal
  8. branch — a division
  9. field — farmland
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. row — a line
  15. field — for sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. field — a subject
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. degree — an amount
  20. pit — a hole
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. degree — from a university

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