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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: net · shower · racket · drill · branch · swing · last · fall

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. net — for catching
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fall — to drop
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. swing — to play on
  14. drill — army training
  15. last — to go on
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. last — final
  18. net — in sport
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fall — to drop
  21. net — after costs
  22. branch — a division
  23. drill — a practice
  24. fall — the season

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