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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: stock · game · wind · hide · cell · bass · branch · capital

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stock — goods
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stock — shares
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. branch — a division
  12. capital — money
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. game — wild animals
  15. capital — a city
  16. bass — the fish
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cell — a phone
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bass — low music
  24. cell — in a prison

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