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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — for catching
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. row — a line
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. net — after costs
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — a friend
  18. net — in sport
  19. mate — a partner
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. row — a quarrel

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