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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: trunk · land · deal · rock · last · net · kid · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. branch — a division
  4. last — finally
  5. net — for catching
  6. last — to go on
  7. land — ground
  8. deal — to handle
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. last — final
  11. kid — child
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — music
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. kid — to tease
  17. land — a country
  18. net — after costs
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. land — to come down
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. net — in sport
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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