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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: race · fine · rush · degree · band · branch · bore · bark

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. race — a contest
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bore — to drill
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fine — high quality
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — a division
  12. fine — all right
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bore — to tire
  19. band — a music group
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. rush — hurry
  23. band — a ring
  24. fine — a penalty

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