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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 116 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: rest · net · kid · branch · mug · plane · chip · bark

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kid — child
  3. net — after costs
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mug — a cup
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mug — a face
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. kid — to tease
  19. branch — a division
  20. plane — a tool
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. chip — to eat
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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