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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: race · kid · mine · net · shower · object · racket · branch

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. branch — a division
  3. kid — to tease
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. shower — rain
  6. object — to protest
  7. mine — for digging
  8. kid — child
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. object — a thing
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. net — after costs
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. object — an aim
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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