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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: rest · chip · mark · net · branch · staff · fan · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — for betting
  5. staff — a stick
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. branch — a division
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rest — what's left
  11. net — in sport
  12. mark — a grade
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. staff — employees
  15. row — to paddle
  16. net — for catching
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — employees
  19. net — after costs
  20. rest — a break
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mark — a trace
  24. chip — in a computer

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