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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: wind · branch · spring · band · fall · land · rash · plane

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. rash — a series
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a music group
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wind — moving air
  9. land — a country
  10. rash — hasty
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. fall — the season
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spring — the season
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. spring — of water
  20. land — to come down
  21. band — a ring
  22. spring — a coil
  23. branch — a division
  24. fall — to drop

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