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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mug — a cup
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bass — the fish
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mug — to rob
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mug — a face
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — to bear
  21. branch — a division
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. drill — army training
  24. wind — moving air

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