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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: firm · bass · mate · capital · dip · degree · straw · branch

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. capital — money
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. capital — a city
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. degree — from a university
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bass — low music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mate — a partner
  12. firm — steady
  13. mate — a friend
  14. firm — decided
  15. degree — temperature
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. mate — to breed
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. dip — to sink
  23. firm — a company
  24. bass — the fish

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