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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: cue · degree · squash · bank · fall · cell

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bank — for money
  5. fall — to drop
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bank — for money
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bank — of a river
  11. cue — a hint
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. cue — for pool
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cue — a signal
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature

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