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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: bay · rush · chip · branch · degree · bat · roll · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. roll — a list
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. degree — an amount
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. content — the amount
  11. bat — the animal
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — from a university
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. roll — a cake
  23. branch — a division
  24. rush — hurry

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