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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. land — ground
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. march — the month
  8. rash — hasty
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bank — for money
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bank — of a river
  13. charge — a price
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — a box
  16. land — to come down
  17. rash — a series
  18. land — a country
  19. march — music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. chest — of your body
  22. charge — in control
  23. bank — for money
  24. bass — low music

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