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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: bark · ball · branch · net · hand · track · season · bulb

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. ball — a great time
  3. track — a path
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. track — to keep track
  7. net — after costs
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. season — in sport
  12. branch — a division
  13. bulb — for light
  14. season — of the year
  15. net — for catching
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. track — a song
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. ball — a dance
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. season — to add flavour

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