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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: land · rash · fall · branch · degree · toast · bowl · bass

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. land — to come down
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. toast — bread
  7. land — ground
  8. branch — a division
  9. land — a country
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fall — to drop
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. rash — a series
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. fall — the season
  19. bass — the fish
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bowl — a football final

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