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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: bank · ball · chair · pitcher · rush · spell · branch · bass

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bank — for money
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bank — of a river
  7. branch — a division
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. spell — magic
  12. rush — hurry
  13. ball — a great time
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bank — for money
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spell — letters
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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