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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. file — a tool
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. hand — in cards
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bass — the fish
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. season — in sport
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. season — of the year
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bank — for money
  20. cell — in biology
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. hand — help
  23. bank — for money
  24. file — a document

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