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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
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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 · fall · spring · craft · wind · bass · rest · rash

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spring — a coil
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. rest — a break
  5. spring — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rest — what's left
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. degree — from a university
  19. fall — the season
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spring — of water
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rash — a series
  24. rest — what's left

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