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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: game · pop · hand · nail · fan · net · perch · branch

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. perch — the fish
  4. pop — music
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. hand — in cards
  7. game — a match
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. net — after costs
  10. pop — to visit
  11. branch — a division
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. pop — soda
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. net — in sport
  19. hand — help
  20. net — for catching
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. nail — on a finger

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