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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · degree · bass · fall · file · ball · net · tear

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. tear — from crying
  4. file — a tool
  5. degree — from a university
  6. fall — to drop
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ball — a great time
  9. net — after costs
  10. bass — low music
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bass — the fish
  13. fall — the season
  14. branch — a division
  15. fall — to drop
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. file — a document
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ball — a dance

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