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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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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: craft · fall · branch · tear · charge · march · press · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. march — the month
  3. fall — to drop
  4. branch — a division
  5. march — music
  6. charge — a price
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. charge — in control
  12. press — newspapers
  13. tear — to rip
  14. craft — a skill
  15. press — to push
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — the season
  18. craft — boats
  19. press — a publisher
  20. charge — electricity
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. fall — to drop
  23. march — the month
  24. degree — temperature

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