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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 · cell · wound · march · cabinet · mug · net · row

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cell — a phone
  3. row — a line
  4. net — for catching
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the fish
  11. net — in sport
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — to rob
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. march — the month
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. march — the month
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mug — a face
  23. bass — low music
  24. march — music

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