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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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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: branch · ruler · last · fork · bat · chip · stock · degree

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. ruler — for measuring
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. stock — goods
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. last — final
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — to eat
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. last — to go on
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. last — finally
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. fork — in a road
  23. branch — a division
  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