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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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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: face · pit · toast · branch · bear · degree · cold · leaves

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. toast — bread
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. branch — a division
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cold — not warm
  11. face — to point toward
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pit — a hole
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pit — in a race
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. cold — an illness
  19. face — to confront
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. bear — the animal
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. degree — an amount

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