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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 · bank · degree · swing · fan · fall · kid · rest

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. rest — what's left
  5. swing — music
  6. bank — of a river
  7. degree — an amount
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rest — what's left
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. kid — child
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. swing — in golf
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. rest — a break
  23. kid — to tease
  24. squash — the sport

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