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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. march — the month
  4. branch — a division
  5. bat — the animal
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. march — the month
  13. face — to confront
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. march — music
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. club — for dancing
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. vault — a safe
  21. face — to point toward
  22. net — after costs
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. straw — a straw man

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