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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. march — the month
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. branch — a division
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bass — the fish
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. coach — a trainer

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