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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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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: degree · squash · tube · swing · fork · land · face · branch

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fork — in a road
  4. land — ground
  5. branch — a division
  6. face — to confront
  7. land — a country
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. degree — temperature
  10. tube — a container
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. degree — from a university
  15. squash — the sport
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. swing — music
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. land — to come down
  20. face — to point toward
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. tube — the underground

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