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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: branch · cold · trunk · current · deal · net · bass · mouse

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bass — low music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. net — for catching
  6. cold — an illness
  7. current — of water
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. current — happening now
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. deal — to handle
  23. branch — a division
  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