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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: arm · bass · branch · pop · kid · spring · wind · spell

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bass — the fish
  3. kid — child
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pop — to visit
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pop — music
  14. bass — low music
  15. pop — soda
  16. spell — letters
  17. branch — a division
  18. spring — of water
  19. spell — magic
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wind — moving air

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