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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 120 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: row · court · rush · net · pop · saw · branch · bass

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. net — after costs
  4. bass — the fish
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — for sport
  7. saw — the tool
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. row — to paddle
  12. net — in sport
  13. pop — music
  14. court — of law
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rush — hurry
  18. court — of a king
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bass — low music
  21. branch — a division
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. row — a line
  24. bass — the instrument

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