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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: shower · branch · land · present · net · rash · bay · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — a division
  4. shower — to wash
  5. net — in sport
  6. present — a gift
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. land — ground
  10. present — the time now
  11. land — a country
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. land — to come down
  14. game — wild animals
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. net — after costs
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. present — there
  19. game — a match
  20. rash — hasty
  21. shower — rain
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. net — for catching
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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