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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 · shower · band · net · season · land · chair · roll

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. roll — a list
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. season — of the year
  6. chair — a leader
  7. land — ground
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. season — in sport
  11. net — in sport
  12. band — a music group
  13. land — a country
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. shower — rain
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. net — after costs
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. land — to come down
  21. net — for catching
  22. roll — a cake
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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