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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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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: stock · bass · club · wind · cell · temple · arm · season

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. season — of the year
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. cell — a phone
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stock — goods
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. arm — part of the body

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