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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: rush · branch · file · degree · squash · bass · game · season

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. game — wild animals
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. degree — from a university
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rush — hurry
  9. degree — an amount
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. season — of the year
  12. degree — temperature
  13. season — in sport
  14. game — a match
  15. bass — the fish
  16. file — a tool
  17. squash — to crush
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. file — a document
  20. squash — the sport
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — low music
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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