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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: branch · pitcher · drill · file · bass · wind · saw · mouse

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bass — low music
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wind — moving air
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. branch — a division
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a document
  24. saw — the tool

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