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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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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 · cap · shower · race · branch · arm · cell · stock

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cell — in biology
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cap — a lid
  6. race — a contest
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. branch — a division
  10. stock — goods
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. stock — shares
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. race — the arms race
  19. shower — rain
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cap — of ice
  24. race — humankind

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