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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: ball · rush · fall · can · degree · saw · cold · branch

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — to drop
  4. can — a tin
  5. ball — a great time
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cold — not warm
  8. branch — a division
  9. can — to be able to
  10. fall — to drop
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. saw — the tool
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fall — the season
  21. cold — an illness
  22. can — a tin
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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