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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: degree · squash · band · fall · branch · bulb · fan · spring

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. degree — temperature
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. degree — an amount
  12. branch — a division
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bulb — for light
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. band — a ring
  18. spring — the season
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. band — a music group

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