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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: march · mate · row · bass · bat · face · net · branch

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bass — low music
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. net — after costs
  15. branch — a division
  16. row — to paddle
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. row — a line
  22. mate — to breed
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bass — the fish

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