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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: land · tear · degree · net · chip · pound · wake · branch

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chip — to eat
  3. net — for catching
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. tear — from crying
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — ground
  9. tear — to rip
  10. net — after costs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. land — a country
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. chip — for betting
  20. net — in sport
  21. wake — a trail
  22. land — to come down
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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