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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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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: net · lean · ball · calf · pop · dip · hand · branch

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pop — music
  6. branch — a division
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. net — after costs
  9. pop — soda
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. hand — help
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ball — a dance
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. net — in sport
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. net — for catching
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. pop — to visit
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — thin
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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