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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: cell · capital · wind · bark · branch · degree · drill · key

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. drill — the tool
  4. key — in music
  5. degree — an amount
  6. capital — a city
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. degree — from a university
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. branch — a division
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wind — moving air
  16. degree — temperature
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — the most important part
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. capital — money

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