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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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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: cell · row · file · racket · branch · swing · net · fall

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. file — a line of people
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. file — a document
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fall — the season
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — in biology
  10. net — after costs
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fall — to drop
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. file — a tool
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fall — to drop
  21. branch — a division
  22. swing — music
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. row — a line

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