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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: bass · branch · band · season · craft · content · stock · key

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stock — shares
  3. key — the most important part
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. season — in sport
  6. branch — a division
  7. key — in music
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. craft — boats
  10. season — of the year
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. band — a music group
  14. stock — goods
  15. band — a ring
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. content — happy
  18. bass — the fish
  19. craft — a skill
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. key — for a lock
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. content — the amount

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