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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: net · face · club · chip · band · branch · hide · swing

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. net — after costs
  3. face — part of the head
  4. band — a ring
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. club — for dancing
  8. face — to confront
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. swing — to play on
  11. branch — a division
  12. club — for golf
  13. net — for catching
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. face — to point toward
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. band — a music group
  20. chip — to eat
  21. club — a group
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. chip — for betting
  24. branch — of a tree

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