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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.

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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: branch · season · deal · stock · degree · mug · drill · pop

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. degree — temperature
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mug — a cup
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mug — a face
  13. pop — music
  14. season — in sport
  15. stock — shares
  16. pop — to visit
  17. deal — to handle
  18. mug — to rob
  19. degree — from a university
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pop — soda
  22. drill — a practice
  23. stock — goods
  24. branch — of a tree

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