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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: craft · branch · safe · cell · degree · drill · object · club

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. club — for golf
  4. object — an aim
  5. degree — temperature
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. club — for dancing
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. drill — a practice
  10. craft — boats
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. degree — an amount
  13. drill — army training
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. craft — a skill
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. club — a group
  19. drill — the tool
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. branch — a division
  22. object — a thing
  23. cell — a phone
  24. object — to protest

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