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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: club · bass · spell · branch · last · rock · field · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. bass — low music
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. club — a group
  5. rock — a stone
  6. perch — the fish
  7. field — for sport
  8. bass — the fish
  9. branch — a division
  10. field — farmland
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. field — a subject
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. last — final
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. spell — magic
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — music
  21. spell — a short time
  22. last — to go on
  23. spell — letters
  24. last — finally

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