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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: rash · bass · hide · snap · branch · can · field · cap

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. can — a tin
  4. field — farmland
  5. can — a tin
  6. bass — low music
  7. cap — a hat
  8. can — to be able to
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. cap — a lid
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rash — a series
  18. snap — to click
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. field — for sport
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rash — hasty
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cap — of ice

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