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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.

Words on the sheet
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: fan · branch · degree · face · court · clip · chest · mouse

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. clip — a video
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. face — to confront
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. degree — from a university
  10. clip — to cut
  11. court — for sport
  12. chest — a box
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. court — of law
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — for paper
  21. degree — temperature
  22. court — of a king
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mouse — the animal

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