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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: band · land · hand · net · shower · lash · branch · charge

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. shower — to wash
  4. net — after costs
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. net — for catching
  10. branch — a division
  11. shower — rain
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. land — to come down
  15. net — in sport
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. charge — a price
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. band — a ring
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. band — a music group
  24. hand — help

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