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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: current · wound · march · trunk · branch · lash · degree · drill

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. drill — army training
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. march — music
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. drill — the tool
  12. current — electric
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. branch — a division
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wound — an injury
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. degree — temperature
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. march — the month
  24. drill — a practice

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