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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: wound · tear · cap · stick · jam · bass · spell · branch

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bass — the fish
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. spell — magic
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — an injury
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. tear — from crying
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bass — low music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spell — a short time
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. branch — a division
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a hat

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