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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · bat · branch · arm · degree · drill · bear · wave

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bass — low music
  4. degree — an amount
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. branch — a division
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. drill — army training
  19. degree — temperature
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bass — the fish
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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