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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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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: land · mine · rock · stick · face · branch · degree · sharp

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. land — ground
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. face — to confront
  5. land — to come down
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rock — a stone
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rock — music
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. face — part of the head
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mine — for digging
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. branch — a division
  22. land — a country
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mine — belonging to me

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