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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: cell · rash · net · date · bat · bank · straw · root

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. net — after costs
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bank — for money
  5. root — of a plant
  6. root — of a word
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. date — the fruit
  9. net — for catching
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bank — for money
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. net — in sport
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cell — a phone
  20. root — the cause
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rash — a series

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