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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 120 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
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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: degree · fan · coach · tube · spring · branch · plane · swing

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. degree — an amount
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — from a university
  6. spring — the season
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. tube — a container
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. branch — a division
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — a coil
  16. plane — a tool
  17. spring — of water
  18. swing — to play on
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. tube — the underground

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