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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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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: track · bass · bank · prune · roll · wound · degree · branch

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. bass — low music
  4. track — to keep track
  5. branch — a division
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. degree — an amount
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bank — for money
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bass — the fish
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — for money
  19. roll — a cake
  20. degree — temperature
  21. roll — a list
  22. bank — of a river
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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