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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · tube · shower · mate · straw · fork · branch · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. degree — from a university
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — a division
  5. tube — the underground
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — temperature
  9. sharp — clever
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. mate — a friend
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — an amount
  19. tube — a container
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a partner

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