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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: bowl · bass · field · stock · straw · branch · kick · net

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. net — in sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. branch — a division
  7. net — after costs
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. field — farmland
  10. bass — the fish
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. field — a subject
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. field — for sport
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kick — in football
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. net — for catching
  24. stock — shares

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