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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: rule · jam · degree · foot · deal · march · cold · branch

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. march — the month
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. degree — from a university
  7. foot — a measure
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. degree — temperature
  14. march — music
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cold — an illness
  24. march — the month

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