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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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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: rock · row · branch · degree · tear · chest · net · tube

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. net — for catching
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — in sport
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. tube — a container
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. chest — a box
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. row — a line
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — the underground
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tear — from crying
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. net — after costs
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chest — of your body

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