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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 116 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: object · degree · board · press · ground · stock · branch · deal

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. press — a publisher
  3. object — a thing
  4. deal — to handle
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. board — a committee
  8. press — to push
  9. object — to protest
  10. stock — shares
  11. degree — from a university
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. branch — a division
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. degree — an amount
  18. stock — goods
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ground — crushed
  24. deal — a big deal

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