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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 120 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 · hide · bass · track · ground · bulb · rule · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. rule — a law
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. branch — a division
  8. ground — crushed
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. track — to keep track
  11. ground — the earth
  12. track — a path
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rule — government
  16. ground — a position
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. track — a song
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. rule — to rule out

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