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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: net · fan · land · shower · field · roll · branch · trunk

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. shower — to wash
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a list
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. field — a subject
  10. roll — a cake
  11. shower — rain
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. land — to come down
  16. net — after costs
  17. field — farmland
  18. land — ground
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. branch — a division
  23. field — for sport
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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