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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 116 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. net — in sport
  4. branch — a division
  5. bass — low music
  6. band — a ring
  7. row — to paddle
  8. club — for golf
  9. march — music
  10. net — after costs
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. row — a line
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. net — for catching
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bass — the fish
  24. content — happy

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