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

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. ball — a dance
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. march — the month
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. dip — to sink
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chest — of your body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. bass — low music
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. chest — a box
  18. branch — a division
  19. bass — the fish
  20. march — music
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chest — of your 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