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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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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 · cell · content · chair · degree · pound · arm · stock

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. degree — an amount
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. content — the amount
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. branch — a division
  20. chair — a leader
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. content — happy
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. cell — a phone

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