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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: suit · net · coach · tear · field · lie · shower · branch

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. lie — to recline
  4. net — after costs
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. field — for sport
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. field — a subject
  11. shower — rain
  12. suit — clothes
  13. shower — to wash
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. net — in sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. suit — to fit
  22. suit — in cards
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. net — for catching

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