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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · march · wake · fan · bat · branch · present · swing

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. march — music
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. present — there
  11. wake — a trail
  12. present — the time now
  13. swing — music
  14. present — a gift
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. march — the month
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. march — the month
  20. branch — a division
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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