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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: fan · rest · content · branch · wave · degree · bank · spring

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. spring — of water
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bank — for money
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. degree — temperature
  13. branch — a division
  14. rest — a break
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. degree — an amount
  20. content — the amount
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. spring — the season

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