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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: track · march · ball · net · mine · chest · safe · branch

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. track — a song
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. net — for catching
  8. ball — a dance
  9. net — in sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. track — a path
  15. march — music
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. branch — a division
  20. march — the month
  21. net — after costs
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. chest — a box

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