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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: toast · clip · firm · branch · chip · spring · bass · coach

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. clip — a video
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. clip — for paper
  7. firm — steady
  8. toast — bread
  9. branch — a division
  10. spring — a coil
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spring — the season
  13. chip — for betting
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. firm — a company
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spring — of water
  18. chip — to eat
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. firm — decided
  22. bass — the fish
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. branch — of a tree

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