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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: shower · swing · roll · stand · branch · net · mark · date

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. roll — a list
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. net — after costs
  5. mark — a trace
  6. stand — to bear
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — music
  11. shower — rain
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. swing — in golf
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. swing — to play on
  17. branch — a division
  18. net — in sport
  19. shower — to wash
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. date — the fruit
  23. net — for catching
  24. roll — a cake

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