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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — low music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. rash — a series
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. net — after costs
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bass — the fish
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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