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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: racket · branch · straw · march · net · shower · stem · race

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stem — to come from
  4. net — after costs
  5. branch — a division
  6. race — the arms race
  7. march — the month
  8. net — for catching
  9. march — the month
  10. race — humankind
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. race — a contest
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. shower — to wash
  18. march — music
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — rain
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. net — in sport

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