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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: sharp · march · stem · game · branch · bass · band · cabinet

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. band — a music group
  4. game — wild animals
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. march — music
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bass — low music
  10. branch — a division
  11. march — the month
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. march — the month
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stem — to come from
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. game — a match
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bass — the fish
  24. band — a ring

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