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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: net · branch · land · lean · dip · content · degree · pitch

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. land — ground
  3. net — in sport
  4. land — a country
  5. lean — to bend
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. lean — thin
  10. content — the amount
  11. net — after costs
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. degree — an amount
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. pitch — completely
  16. net — for catching
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. degree — from a university
  20. land — to come down
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. dip — to sink
  23. content — happy
  24. degree — temperature

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