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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: fan · branch · bat · tear · sharp · rule · degree · pitcher

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. tear — from crying
  6. branch — a division
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rule — government
  17. degree — temperature
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. sharp — clever

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