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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: court · cell · pass · degree · stand · mark · branch · hand

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. mark — a trace
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. branch — a division
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mark — a grade
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. court — for sport
  15. hand — help
  16. pass — a permit
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. court — of law
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cell — a phone
  22. court — of a king
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cell — in biology

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