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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: squash · spring · cap · branch · bass · arm · drill · date

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bass — the fish
  3. cap — of ice
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. spring — the season
  8. squash — the sport
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. branch — a division
  13. bass — low music
  14. drill — army training
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. spring — of water
  17. cap — a lid
  18. drill — a practice
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. drill — the tool
  24. squash — to crush

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