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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 120 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: branch · fan · pop · rash · row · stem · bass · wound

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. branch — a division
  3. pop — music
  4. bass — low music
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wound — an injury
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bass — the fish
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pop — soda
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. row — a line
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rash — a series
  24. stem — a stem cell

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