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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. march — music
  4. bass — low music
  5. club — a group
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. staff — a stick
  8. club — for golf
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. staff — employees
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. march — the month
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. staff — employees
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. shower — rain
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. branch — a division
  21. shower — to wash
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — the month
  24. club — for dancing

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