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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 116 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: pop · race · game · cell · bear · spell · bass · branch

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cell — a phone
  3. race — humankind
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spell — magic
  8. branch — a division
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bass — low music
  11. spell — letters
  12. pop — soda
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. game — a match
  17. bear — the animal
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pop — music
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bear — the animal
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bear — to put up with

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