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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 · net · kid · track · patient · toast · bark · date

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. net — for catching
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. track — to keep track
  4. toast — bread
  5. track — a path
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. kid — child
  12. bark — to shout
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. kid — to tease
  15. net — after costs
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. track — a song
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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