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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: spring · bat · rash · branch · bass · wind · chip · stock

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chip — to eat
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. spring — of water
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. stock — goods
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — the season
  16. stock — shares
  17. chip — for betting
  18. rash — a series
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bass — low music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rash — hasty
  23. branch — a division
  24. spring — a coil

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