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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · net · branch · cell · kick · spring · board · row

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. kick — in football
  3. branch — a division
  4. net — after costs
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. board — to get on
  9. row — a line
  10. cell — in biology
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. net — for catching
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — a coil
  17. land — ground
  18. cell — a phone
  19. row — to paddle
  20. land — to come down
  21. board — a committee
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. net — in sport
  24. row — a quarrel

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