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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: squash · wake · rule · degree · bank · fall

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rule — government
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fall — the season
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. rule — a law
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — a trail
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rule — to rule out

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