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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: roll · patient · wind · bat · degree · swing · pitcher · branch

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — temperature
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. degree — from a university
  5. swing — music
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. swing — to play on
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. wind — moving air
  22. swing — in golf
  23. branch — a division
  24. roll — a cake

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