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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: bass · capital · file · season · bat · pit · shower · branch

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bat — the animal
  9. shower — rain
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. file — a tool
  12. capital — a city
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. file — a document
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. shower — to wash
  23. capital — money
  24. pit — in a race

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