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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: bank · coach · plane · tear · net · branch · bowl · bat

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tear — to rip
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bank — for money
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bank — for money
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. tear — from crying
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bank — of a river
  15. bat — the animal
  16. net — in sport
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. branch — a division
  24. plane — a tool

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