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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: can · branch · chest · scale · bulb · trunk · press · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bulb — for light
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. can — a tin
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. chest — of your body
  9. branch — a division
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. scale — size or range
  13. press — to push
  14. can — to be able to
  15. press — newspapers
  16. degree — from a university
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. can — a tin
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. press — a publisher
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. scale — in music

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