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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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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: straw · shower · branch · net · mark · object · wound · coach

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. shower — to wash
  5. net — for catching
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. shower — rain
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. object — to protest
  14. branch — a division
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. object — an aim
  18. mark — a grade
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wound — an injury
  21. object — a thing
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. mark — a trace

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