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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: branch · track · spring · craft · coach · bass · content · file

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bass — low music
  3. craft — a skill
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a tool
  6. branch — a division
  7. track — a song
  8. track — a path
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. spring — a coil
  11. content — happy
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — the season
  14. track — to keep track
  15. spring — of water
  16. craft — boats
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. file — a line of people
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. content — the amount
  24. file — a document

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