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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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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: fall · stand · squash · branch · cold · bulb · rush · last

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bulb — for light
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cold — not warm
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fall — to drop
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. last — finally
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fall — 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