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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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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: lash · degree · hand · branch · chest · roll · ground · rock

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hand — in cards
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. chest — a box
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. roll — a list
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rock — a stone
  14. degree — temperature
  15. roll — a cake
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hand — help
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. rock — music
  23. branch — a division
  24. ground — crushed

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