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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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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: game · degree · branch · season · mouse · bore · band · kid

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. degree — an amount
  5. band — a music group
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. season — of the year
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. band — a ring
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kid — child
  21. season — in sport
  22. branch — a division
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. band — a rubber band

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