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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 · wake · wound · net · roll · band · lie · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. net — in sport
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. roll — a cake
  11. band — a ring
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. roll — a list
  16. lie — to recline
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. branch — a division
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. band — a music group

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