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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: spring · branch · scale · degree · hide · band · stock · pass

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. scale — in music
  5. spring — of water
  6. band — a music group
  7. pass — a permit
  8. degree — temperature
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — the season
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. degree — an amount
  20. spring — a coil
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. scale — size or range

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