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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: current · branch · present · shower · bass · cold · bank · cell

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. current — of water
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. current — happening now
  6. cold — an illness
  7. shower — rain
  8. current — electric
  9. cell — in biology
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bank — for money
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cell — a phone
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. present — there
  21. shower — to wash
  22. branch — a division
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bank — for money

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