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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: degree · bass · field · arm · branch · cold · snap · cue

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cue — a signal
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. field — a subject
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bass — the fish
  13. branch — a division
  14. degree — an amount
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bass — low music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. degree — temperature
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. field — farmland
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. snap — to click

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