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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.

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 · lash · press · stock · branch · tear · ruler · spell

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. press — to push
  2. spell — letters
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. degree — an amount
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. branch — a division
  12. spell — magic
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. press — newspapers
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. press — a publisher
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. degree — from a university
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stock — shares
  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