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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. net — for catching
  6. firm — a company
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. firm — steady
  12. wind — moving air
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kid — child
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — to tease
  18. firm — decided

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