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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 116 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 · wind · land · clip · rest · net · game · trunk

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — for catching
  5. land — a country
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. clip — a video
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. branch — a division
  12. land — ground
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rest — a break
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. net — after costs
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — for paper
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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