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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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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. band — a ring
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. object — to protest
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. net — for catching
  8. lean — thin
  9. band — a music group
  10. net — in sport
  11. stand — to bear
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — in a road
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lean — to bend
  17. object — a thing
  18. lean — to rest against

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