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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: rest · branch · band · pop · deal · saw · bear · degree

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. branch — a division
  3. deal — to handle
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rest — a break
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bear — the animal
  8. band — a music group
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pop — to visit
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. degree — from a university
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. degree — temperature
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. saw — the tool
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. band — a ring
  24. rest — what's left

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