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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: dip · wind · file · band · prune · spring · bowl · degree

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. band — a ring
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a tool
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spring — of water
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. band — a music group
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. spring — the season
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. file — a document
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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