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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: season · cell · snap · bass · trunk · arm · ruler · branch

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cell — a phone
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. snap — to click
  9. branch — a division
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bass — low music
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. season — in sport
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. season — of the year
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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