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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 · bark · degree · bass · spell · march · swing · cabinet

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. branch — a division
  3. bass — low music
  4. swing — music
  5. march — music
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. degree — an amount
  9. spell — letters
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. swing — in golf
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. march — the month
  18. spell — magic
  19. degree — from a university
  20. march — the month
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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