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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 116 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: branch · hide · spell · degree · straw · mate · mine · sharp

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. degree — temperature
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. spell — magic
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. spell — letters
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mate — to breed
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spell — a short time
  20. degree — an amount
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mate — a friend
  24. branch — a division

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