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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: clip · jam · mark · bound · bass · net · branch · degree

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bound — obliged
  6. degree — from a university
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bass — the fish
  10. net — in sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. net — for catching
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mark — a trace
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. bass — low music
  19. clip — a video
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. degree — temperature
  24. net — after costs

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