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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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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: lie · stand · branch · pop · vault · mine · degree · wind

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — to recline
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pop — soda
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pop — to visit
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. vault — a safe
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pop — music
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. branch — a division
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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