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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: band · spell · key · net · branch · hand · wind · bark

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. hand — help
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. net — after costs
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. hand — in cards
  11. net — for catching
  12. wind — moving air
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. net — in sport
  15. bark — to shout
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. spell — letters
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. band — a music group
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. band — a ring
  24. branch — a division

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