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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.

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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: rash · prune · staff · shower · present · branch · wave · degree

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — employees
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. present — a gift
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. staff — a stick
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. shower — to wash
  13. degree — temperature
  14. shower — rain
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. degree — from a university
  18. branch — a division
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. present — there
  22. staff — employees
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — a series

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