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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 120 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: rock · branch · march · bat · mouse · chest · rest · mate

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rest — what's left
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. march — the month
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. branch — a division
  12. rest — what's left
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. march — music
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. chest — a box
  18. mate — to breed
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — music
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mate — a friend
  24. chest — of your body

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