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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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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: tube · chest · branch · shower · nail · present · wound · degree

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. degree — from a university
  3. present — a gift
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. chest — a box
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. branch — a division
  13. shower — rain
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wound — an injury
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tube — the underground
  19. chest — of your body
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. chest — of your body

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