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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 · bat · ruler · branch · chest · wound · roll · pop

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pop — soda
  4. net — after costs
  5. pop — music
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. chest — a box
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wound — an injury
  12. net — in sport
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. roll — a cake
  16. net — for catching
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. branch — a division
  24. pop — to visit

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