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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — to paddle
  10. content — the amount
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. content — happy
  13. row — a line
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bank — for money
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bank — of a river
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bank — for money
  24. branch — a division

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