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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  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. bass — low music
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. roll — a list
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bass — the fish
  7. net — after costs
  8. roll — a cake
  9. mug — a cup
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. branch — a division
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mug — a face
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. net — for catching
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. net — in sport
  23. mug — to rob
  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