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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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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 · fan · snap · net · sharp · degree · shower · patient

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. degree — temperature
  3. net — for catching
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. sharp — clever
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. shower — rain
  11. net — in sport
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. shower — to wash
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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