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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: vault · branch · rule · mine · straw · press · wind · degree

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — government
  5. wind — moving air
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. vault — a safe
  13. degree — an amount
  14. press — a publisher
  15. rule — a law
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. press — to push
  20. mine — for digging
  21. press — newspapers
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. degree — from a university
  24. straw — a straw man

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