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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.

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: track · arm · content · degree · wind · craft · stock · branch

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. degree — from a university
  5. content — happy
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. craft — a skill
  10. stock — shares
  11. craft — boats
  12. branch — a division
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. track — a path
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. track — a song
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. track — to keep track
  23. stock — goods
  24. wind — moving air

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