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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 120 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: rest · net · branch · trunk · land · kick · fan · spell

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. net — after costs
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. rest — a break
  5. net — for catching
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. net — in sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. land — to come down
  11. rest — what's left
  12. land — a country
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kick — in football
  18. branch — a division
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. land — ground
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. spell — letters
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. fan — to cool the air

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