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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: cold · bass · bowl · sharp · jam · branch · spring · field

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spring — a coil
  5. field — for sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. branch — a division
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. field — farmland
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spring — of water
  19. field — a subject
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. cold — not warm
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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