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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: net · fork · band · chest · branch · game · lash · key

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. band — a music group
  3. branch — a division
  4. net — in sport
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. band — a ring
  8. fork — in a road
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. net — for catching
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. key — in music
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. key — for a lock
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. net — after costs
  23. game — a match
  24. key — the most important part

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