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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: bass · rash · drill · ball · trunk · chest · branch · sharp

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rash — hasty
  3. ball — a dance
  4. branch — a division
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. drill — the tool
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — a series
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. chest — a box
  19. sharp — clever
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chest — of your body
  23. drill — army training
  24. branch — of a bank

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