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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: tear · branch · game · racket · net · ground · pop · face

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — in sport
  4. pop — music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. net — after costs
  7. face — part of the head
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. face — to confront
  12. pop — soda
  13. net — for catching
  14. tear — to rip
  15. face — to point toward
  16. ground — the earth
  17. branch — a division
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pop — to visit
  21. game — a match
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ground — a position
  24. racket — for tennis

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