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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bass — the fish
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. hand — help
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bass — low music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. field — a subject
  11. staff — employees
  12. field — farmland
  13. court — of law
  14. stock — shares
  15. court — of a king
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. staff — a stick
  18. court — for sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — for sport
  23. cell — a phone
  24. stock — goods

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