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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 · shower · current · branch · arm · sharp · bowl · present

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. present — there
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. net — after costs
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. net — for catching
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. current — electric
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. present — the time now
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. net — in sport
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. present — a gift
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. shower — to wash

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