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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: rock · row · club · net · date · bat · trunk · march

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. march — music
  5. row — a line
  6. date — the fruit
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. net — in sport
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. club — for dancing
  11. march — the month
  12. club — a group
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. bat — the animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. rock — a stone
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rock — music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. club — for golf
  24. bat — in an idiom

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