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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: pitcher · cell · file · mug · branch · court · bat · bass

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bass — low music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. file — a document
  5. branch — a division
  6. mug — a face
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bat — the animal
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cell — in biology
  18. file — a tool
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — of law
  24. pitcher — a jug

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