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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: branch · band · face · chip · net · court · spell · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. net — after costs
  3. face — to confront
  4. court — of a king
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. band — a music group
  8. face — part of the head
  9. spell — letters
  10. court — of law
  11. spell — magic
  12. face — to point toward
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chip — for betting
  15. net — in sport
  16. court — for sport
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. net — for catching
  19. chip — to eat
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. branch — a division
  23. band — a ring
  24. spell — a short time

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