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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: bass · spring · mark · current · capital · chair · branch · bat

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bass — low music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. spring — a coil
  6. current — of water
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. branch — a division
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. capital — a city
  12. spring — the season
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. spring — of water
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. mark — a trace

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