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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 · branch · march · snap · land · key · mate · suit

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. branch — a division
  2. land — ground
  3. suit — clothes
  4. suit — in cards
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — in music
  8. land — to come down
  9. suit — to fit
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. march — the month
  12. mate — a partner
  13. degree — an amount
  14. march — the month
  15. mate — a friend
  16. snap — to click
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university
  19. march — music
  20. mate — to breed
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. land — a country
  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