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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: chip · net · branch · press · file · bulb · court · hand

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. hand — help
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chip — to eat
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bulb — for light
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. court — for sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. hand — in cards
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. press — a publisher
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. branch — a division
  23. chip — for betting
  24. branch — of a tree

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