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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.

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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 · fan · wound · plane · branch · field · cap · dip

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cap — a lid
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. plane — a tool
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cap — of ice
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. squash — the sport
  18. dip — to sink
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cap — a hat
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wound — an injury
  23. branch — a division
  24. wound — an injury

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