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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: club · tube · face · bass · spring · craft · branch · fan

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. branch — a division
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bass — low music
  9. face — part of the head
  10. craft — a skill
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. tube — the underground
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. tube — a container
  17. craft — boats
  18. spring — of water
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bass — the fish
  24. craft — a handicraft

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