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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 · club · wave · track · mine · last · branch · date

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. mine — for digging
  3. track — a song
  4. branch — a division
  5. date — the fruit
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. last — final
  12. club — for dancing
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. club — a group
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. degree — from a university
  21. club — for golf
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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