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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: rash · net · tube · branch · racket · bass · chest · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chest — a box
  3. tube — a container
  4. date — the fruit
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. net — after costs
  7. chest — of your body
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bass — the fish
  15. rash — hasty
  16. net — for catching
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rash — a series
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. net — in sport
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bass — low music
  24. racket — for tennis

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