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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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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: cell · drill · club · face · land · branch · wind · bass

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cell — in biology
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. wind — moving air
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. drill — the tool
  12. club — for golf
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. club — for dancing
  15. branch — a division
  16. face — to confront
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. land — a country
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — low music
  23. cell — a phone
  24. club — a group

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