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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: wound · chair · net · branch · fine · wave · dip · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. net — after costs
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. branch — a division
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. wound — an injury
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. date — the fruit
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. chair — a leader
  19. dip — to sink
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. chair — a professorship

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