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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. band — a music group
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. net — after costs
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. shower — rain
  12. board — to get on
  13. shower — to wash
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. band — a ring
  18. swing — music
  19. board — a committee
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. net — for catching
  22. branch — a division
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bark — of a tree

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