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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: cell · bowl · march · bass · row · charge · patient · mine

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bass — the fish
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bass — low music
  6. charge — in control
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — a price
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. row — a line
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. march — the month
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. march — music
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — to paddle
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. cell — in biology

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