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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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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: mate · branch · trunk · court · deal · spell · degree · nail

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. trunk — of a tree
  3. degree — from a university
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. mate — to breed
  7. spell — letters
  8. degree — an amount
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. mate — a friend
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. spell — magic
  19. deal — to handle
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mate — a partner
  23. court — for sport
  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