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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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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: wave · bore · race · branch · spring · degree · chip · foot

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. bore — to drill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. race — humankind
  8. spring — of water
  9. bore — to tire
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. branch — a division
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. foot — a measure
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chip — for betting
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spring — the season

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