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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: degree · wound · pass · board · last · tube · branch · cell

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. branch — a division
  7. tube — the underground
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cell — a phone
  11. tube — a container
  12. degree — an amount
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. last — final
  21. wound — an injury
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. board — a committee

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