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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: arm · branch · ground · content · ball · bay · fan · degree

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. ball — a great time
  3. content — the amount
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ground — crushed
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. degree — from a university
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. branch — a division
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — happy
  18. ground — a position
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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